David Savastano, Contributing Editor10.03.23
Industrial coatings play a significant role in our everyday lives. They impart critical characteristics that help parts perform at their best; one of these characteristics is controlling corrosion for critical metal parts that are used in abrasive environments.
Corrosion control is the specialty to Hardide Coatings, a UK-based producer of advanced tungsten carbide/tungsten metal matrix composite coatings. Founded in 2000 to develop and commercialize a patent for the Hardide CVD (chemical vapour deposition) coating process, further patents have been registered, with the team’s R&D experts constantly developing new technologies. The company has also branched out into the US, with a plant in Virginia.
“Hardide Coatings develops and manufactures tungsten/tungsten carbide-based metal matrix composite coatings that significantly increase the life of critical metal parts operating in abrasive, erosive, corrosive and chemically aggressive environments,” said Dr. Yuri Zhuk, technical director and a co-founder of Hardide Coatings. The coatings are applied by a low temperature chemical vapour deposition process at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Bicester, Oxfordshire and Virginia, USA.”
Dr. Zhuk noted that Hardide Coatings’ products enable customers in high wear/high value industries including energy (oil & gas, power generation and alternative energy), aerospace, flow control and precision engineering to optimize part life, improve product performance and make significant savings in downtime and maintenance costs. He added that Hardide is a global supplier although the majority of its customers are located in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada.
Dr. Zhuk said that quality is the key differentiator that separates Hardide Coatings from its competitors.
“Hardide CVD coatings are hard and tough as well as ductile and this unique combination of properties can be applied in one material to internal as well as external surfaces, and complex geometries,” Dr. Zhuk said. “This combination of hard, tough and ductile coatings that are able to uniformly coat non-line-of-sight surfaces sets Hardide CVD coatings apart from other coating technologies.
“The coatings have been extensively tested independently and by our customers to provide a comprehensive library of test results that prove the coatings outperform others across a range of protective properties,” added Dr. Zhuk.
Hardide Coatings continuing to grow in its markets, with energy a key sector.
“Energy is our biggest market with customers across the oil & gas, power generation and alternative energy sectors,” said Dr. Zhuk. “Our coatings extend the operational life of critical components by providing superior wear, abrasion, erosion, corrosion and chemical resistance. They are used extensively on downhole and directional drilling tools that are subject to severe slurry and chemical erosion combined with abrasive wear.”
Hardide-T Mesh, the company’s most recent tungsten/tungsten carbide CVD coating and process, was developed specifically to provide surface protection for individual wires which comprise multi-layer woven mesh including sand screens.
“The coating is being used in a coated sand screen proven in independent testing by Chevron Corporation to achieve a 4x-6x increase in erosion performance and 10x reduction in corrosion rate compared to conventional premium screens,” said Dr. Zhuk.
Dr. Zhuk also noted that Hardide CVD coatings provide unrivalled protection for steam and industrial gas turbine (IGT) blades and vanes against damage by water droplet erosion (WDE), corrosion and fatigue.
“The combined protective properties of the coatings increase the service life and extend the optimal performance of these turbine components further than any other coating technology,” he added. “Hardide-coated blades are currently installed in advanced gas turbine engines for Ansaldo Energia, enabling high operational flexibility and cutting CO2 emissions and operational costs. The coating is in test with other large manufacturers of IGTs.
Aerospace applications are very demanding, requiring extreme testing, and Hardide Coatings is an approved supplier to aerospace Airbus, BAE Systems, Leonardo Helicopters, Lockheed Martin and Triumph Group. For example, Hardide Coatings is collaborating with Gardner Aerospace to coat wing components for Airbus.
“We recently entered into a partnership with Gardner Aerospace to coat key wing components for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft after the coating was selected after extensive testing by Airbus to replace hard chrome plating on these parts,” Dr. Zhuk reported. “Regular production orders are now also being received for coating wing components for the Airbus A330, A380 and A400M aircraft. Other parts for these aircraft are currently undergoing testing.”
The critical importance of coatings cannot be overstated, and that requires overcoming key challenges. Dr. Zhuk observed that one of the challenges facing aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is extending seal life.
“This requires a combination of surface finish characteristics in a coating that does not damage the seal and cause oil leakage,” Dr. Zhuk added. “Corrosion of the actuator piston is another challenge for the aerospace sector, especially for aircraft used in hot and humid climates where the humidity and insect sprays used can affect the cobalt binder in WC/Co HVOF coating.
“A corroded piston can lead to accelerated seal wear and oil leakage,” he pointed out. “Historically, many landing gear components have used Hard Chrome (Cr) plating to protect against corrosion and galling. Since 2017, the EU REACH regulations have restricted the use of toxic hexavalent Cr salts, making Hard Cr plating less available and more expensive.’
Dr. Zhuk noted that for many years, finding a replacement for Hard Cr has been a major challenge for the landing gear OEMs, and especially so for complex shaped parts and internal surfaces where HVOF is difficult to apply.
“Now Hardide advanced Tungsten Carbide/Tungsten metal matrix composite coatings are tested and proven to provide a better performing alternative to Hard Cr and can be applied on parts difficult or impossible to coat by HVOF and other traditional methods,” he added.
Aside from Hardide-T Mesh coating, Hardide’s patented coating for turbine blades described above are exciting new developments for the company.
“Furthermore, we see new opportunities in the green energy markets including wind and solar power and the testing of the coating is advancing well for hydrogen applications,” Dr. Zhuk said.
“We are very positive about the outlook for the future as we benefit from increasing market adoption of our coatings as they help customers improve operational efficiency, lower life cycle costs and reduce their carbon footprint accordingly,” Dr. Zhuk concluded.
Corrosion control is the specialty to Hardide Coatings, a UK-based producer of advanced tungsten carbide/tungsten metal matrix composite coatings. Founded in 2000 to develop and commercialize a patent for the Hardide CVD (chemical vapour deposition) coating process, further patents have been registered, with the team’s R&D experts constantly developing new technologies. The company has also branched out into the US, with a plant in Virginia.
“Hardide Coatings develops and manufactures tungsten/tungsten carbide-based metal matrix composite coatings that significantly increase the life of critical metal parts operating in abrasive, erosive, corrosive and chemically aggressive environments,” said Dr. Yuri Zhuk, technical director and a co-founder of Hardide Coatings. The coatings are applied by a low temperature chemical vapour deposition process at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Bicester, Oxfordshire and Virginia, USA.”
Dr. Zhuk noted that Hardide Coatings’ products enable customers in high wear/high value industries including energy (oil & gas, power generation and alternative energy), aerospace, flow control and precision engineering to optimize part life, improve product performance and make significant savings in downtime and maintenance costs. He added that Hardide is a global supplier although the majority of its customers are located in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada.
Dr. Zhuk said that quality is the key differentiator that separates Hardide Coatings from its competitors.
“Hardide CVD coatings are hard and tough as well as ductile and this unique combination of properties can be applied in one material to internal as well as external surfaces, and complex geometries,” Dr. Zhuk said. “This combination of hard, tough and ductile coatings that are able to uniformly coat non-line-of-sight surfaces sets Hardide CVD coatings apart from other coating technologies.
“The coatings have been extensively tested independently and by our customers to provide a comprehensive library of test results that prove the coatings outperform others across a range of protective properties,” added Dr. Zhuk.
Hardide Coatings continuing to grow in its markets, with energy a key sector.
“Energy is our biggest market with customers across the oil & gas, power generation and alternative energy sectors,” said Dr. Zhuk. “Our coatings extend the operational life of critical components by providing superior wear, abrasion, erosion, corrosion and chemical resistance. They are used extensively on downhole and directional drilling tools that are subject to severe slurry and chemical erosion combined with abrasive wear.”
Hardide-T Mesh, the company’s most recent tungsten/tungsten carbide CVD coating and process, was developed specifically to provide surface protection for individual wires which comprise multi-layer woven mesh including sand screens.
“The coating is being used in a coated sand screen proven in independent testing by Chevron Corporation to achieve a 4x-6x increase in erosion performance and 10x reduction in corrosion rate compared to conventional premium screens,” said Dr. Zhuk.
Dr. Zhuk also noted that Hardide CVD coatings provide unrivalled protection for steam and industrial gas turbine (IGT) blades and vanes against damage by water droplet erosion (WDE), corrosion and fatigue.
“The combined protective properties of the coatings increase the service life and extend the optimal performance of these turbine components further than any other coating technology,” he added. “Hardide-coated blades are currently installed in advanced gas turbine engines for Ansaldo Energia, enabling high operational flexibility and cutting CO2 emissions and operational costs. The coating is in test with other large manufacturers of IGTs.
Aerospace applications are very demanding, requiring extreme testing, and Hardide Coatings is an approved supplier to aerospace Airbus, BAE Systems, Leonardo Helicopters, Lockheed Martin and Triumph Group. For example, Hardide Coatings is collaborating with Gardner Aerospace to coat wing components for Airbus.
“We recently entered into a partnership with Gardner Aerospace to coat key wing components for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft after the coating was selected after extensive testing by Airbus to replace hard chrome plating on these parts,” Dr. Zhuk reported. “Regular production orders are now also being received for coating wing components for the Airbus A330, A380 and A400M aircraft. Other parts for these aircraft are currently undergoing testing.”
The critical importance of coatings cannot be overstated, and that requires overcoming key challenges. Dr. Zhuk observed that one of the challenges facing aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is extending seal life.
“This requires a combination of surface finish characteristics in a coating that does not damage the seal and cause oil leakage,” Dr. Zhuk added. “Corrosion of the actuator piston is another challenge for the aerospace sector, especially for aircraft used in hot and humid climates where the humidity and insect sprays used can affect the cobalt binder in WC/Co HVOF coating.
“A corroded piston can lead to accelerated seal wear and oil leakage,” he pointed out. “Historically, many landing gear components have used Hard Chrome (Cr) plating to protect against corrosion and galling. Since 2017, the EU REACH regulations have restricted the use of toxic hexavalent Cr salts, making Hard Cr plating less available and more expensive.’
Dr. Zhuk noted that for many years, finding a replacement for Hard Cr has been a major challenge for the landing gear OEMs, and especially so for complex shaped parts and internal surfaces where HVOF is difficult to apply.
“Now Hardide advanced Tungsten Carbide/Tungsten metal matrix composite coatings are tested and proven to provide a better performing alternative to Hard Cr and can be applied on parts difficult or impossible to coat by HVOF and other traditional methods,” he added.
Aside from Hardide-T Mesh coating, Hardide’s patented coating for turbine blades described above are exciting new developments for the company.
“Furthermore, we see new opportunities in the green energy markets including wind and solar power and the testing of the coating is advancing well for hydrogen applications,” Dr. Zhuk said.
“We are very positive about the outlook for the future as we benefit from increasing market adoption of our coatings as they help customers improve operational efficiency, lower life cycle costs and reduce their carbon footprint accordingly,” Dr. Zhuk concluded.