Hardfaced Pipes for Abrasion and Corrosion Protection

Industrial piping material is selected based on cost, mechanical strength, and how well it suits the operating environment. Carbon steel is commonly used in mild service conditions due to its affordability and favorable mechanical properties. Stainless steels are preferred when moderate chemical resistance is required, particularly in potential mild corrosive exposure or elevated temperatures.

Conversely, industrial piping systems managing abrasive and corrosive substances experience significant wear, primarily caused by solid particles or chemically aggressive fluids that interact with the internal piping surfaces. Factors such as fluid properties, flow velocity, particle concentration, particle hardness, and pipe material play a crucial role in this process. The predominant wear mechanisms in these scenarios include erosion, abrasion, and corrosion. VORAX internally hardfaced pipes and wear-resistant coatings mitigate damage in high-abrasion and high-corrosion environments, significantly extending service life.

Solid particles in industrial fluids frequently cause erosion through cutting and plowing actions, which results in material loss from pipe walls. When the fluid's flow changes direction or speed, these particles strike surfaces at different angles, increasing wear in specific areas like bends and elbows. Additionally, corrosive agents weaken the metal substrate, leading to simultaneous chemical degradation. Once corrosion sites develop, even minor particle impacts worsen metal integrity loss. This interaction among abrasion, erosion, impact, and corrosion leads to significantly higher wear rates than each mechanism acting separately. Over time, this localized damage is a starting point for cracks or pinhole leaks. Engineered solutions from VORAX provide industry-leading wear-resistant pipes, elbows, bends, and other piping elements, ensuring maximum resilience against combined erosion and corrosion challenges.

In fluid transport systems handling corrosive or abrasive slurries, erosion can occur alongside corrosion. Corrosive substances, such as chlorides or acidic solutions, trigger chemical reactions at the metal surface. Even moderate erosion accelerates mass loss once corrosion undermines surface integrity. The wear rate correlates to the impingement angle, making high-performance wear-resistant materials like VORAX wear-resistant pipes a crucial consideration in mitigating degradation. The material removal in these areas is progressive and can become more severe as surface roughness increases, enhancing local turbulence and further amplifying particle impact density. The critical role of localized flow disturbances, such as elbows and discharge points, is evident in amplifying corrosion rates and particle-induced damage. Advanced protective coatings from VORAX prevent excessive wear in bends, tees, wyes, nozzles, and reducers.

The selection of materials for industrial piping must account for both mechanical durability and chemical resistance. Research in wear-resistant metallurgy and its industrial applications has confirmed that hardfaced surfaces exceeding 60 HRC significantly reduce a metal loss compared to standard steel or stainless steel components. VORAX hardfaced pipes and piping components integrate surface treatments such as:

• Chromium carbide and complex carbides hardfacing: a high-hardness surface layer applied to resist abrasion and erosion.
• Tungsten carbide hardfacing: provides superior resistance to wear, especially in extreme environments with high particle velocity.
• Nickel- and cobalt-based cladding: used where both corrosion and erosion resistance are required, particularly in aggressive chemical environments.

These materials and coatings significantly reduce material wear, preserving the pipe’s structural integrity even in high-wear zones. VORAX wear-resistant piping solutions significantly improve long-term operational costs and efficiency. By reducing the frequency of pipe and piping components replacements and maintenance shutdowns, high-stress industries such as mining, cement production, power generation, petrochemical processing, and bulk material handling, where abrasive and corrosive media commonly benefit from:

• Lower maintenance costs due to extended component lifespan.
• Reduced system downtime, improving productivity.
• Enhanced safety, as failure risks are minimized in critical industrial applications.

In industrial piping systems that manage abrasive, erosive, and corrosive media, various components endure different levels of wear based on factors like flow velocity, particle concentration, and chemical interactions. Below are the specific wear mechanisms influencing essential piping elements in high-stress fluid transport applications.

• Pipes - In abrasive and erosive fluid transport, straight pipes experience uniform but gradual material loss along the inner walls, while corrosive media can degrade the pipe surface through chemical reactions, especially at weld seams and joints.
• Bends - Bends suffer from intensified wear on the outer radius due to particle impingement and centrifugal forces, where high-velocity flows concentrate, exacerbating erosion and corrosion in aggressive fluid environments.
• Tees and Wyes - Tees experience localized turbulence and high-impact wear at the intersection where incoming abrasive particles collide with the inner surface, leading to accelerated material loss and potential corrosion. Wyes are subject to asymmetric flow patterns that generate uneven erosion, particularly along the divider walls where particles impact at varying angles, while corrosive fluids can attack weld seams and transition zones.
• Nozzles and Reducers - Nozzles undergo extreme erosion at the exit point due to fluid acceleration, while corrosive media can weaken internal surfaces, making them more susceptible to mechanical wear. Reducers concentrate flow and increase particle velocity, intensifying impingement wear at the smaller diameter end. At the same time, corrosive environments accelerate degradation at the transition zone where flow turbulence is highest.

In the following industries, VORAX wear solutions enhance the longevity of piping components:

• Mining and mineral processing - transport of abrasive slurries, ores, and tailings results in severe erosion in pipelines, elbows, pumps, cyclones, and transfer chutes
• Cement manufacturing - high-abrasion issues in raw material and clinker transport, pneumatic conveying of cement dust and additives causing high wear in air slides, and cyclones.
• Power generation (coal, biomass, and thermal plants) - pneumatic transport of coal and fly ash, corrosive flue gases resulting in high-temperature oxidation and high wear in boiler tubes, flue gas ducts, and ash handling systems.
• Pulp and paper industry - abrasive fiber-laden slurries causing erosion in pipes, chemical corrosion from bleaching and pulping processes causing wear in pulp transport pipelines, digesters, and chutes.
• Agriculture and fertilizer industry - abrasive fertilizer granules and corrosive chemical interactions, pneumatic conveying of bulk powders resulting in wear in ammonia pipelines, blending tanks, and granulation equipment.
• Oil and gas - handling of sand-laden crude oil and gas (erosion in wellhead piping), corrosive effects of gases, and high-salinity water causing wear in production pipelines, separators, and downhole tubing.
• Water and wastewater treatment - corrosion and scaling in pipelines handling treated and untreated water, abrasive wear in sludge transport and grit removal systems, resulting in wear in sludge pumps, clarifier pipes, and aeration systems.
• Steel and metallurgy industry - pneumatic transport of iron ore, coke, and sinter, high-temperature corrosion in blast furnace pipelines, causing wear in slag transport pipes, cooling water lines, and hot gas ducts.
• Pharmaceutical industry - corrosion occurs due to reactive chemicals used in drug production, wear in powder and bulk material handling systems, and wear in transfer chutes, spray dryers, and filtration systems.