The oil and gas industry has long been in need of a wear mitigation solution for the tube body
of drill pipe that did not manifest the metallurgical problems of welding. Thermal spray
provides an alternative application method to welding, but is typically limited to very thin
deposits (1mm or less) and is most often associated with corrosion resistance rather than wear
resistance.
A new coating has been developed that is wear resistant, robust and is capable of being
applied in very thick deposits, from 0.010 inches up to 3.0 inches (.25 – 76 mm).
This material has been applied to the body of drill pipe without any deleterious effect to the
pipe, and the coating is being used to create centralizers and stabilizers for casing drilling and
casing running, as well as other selected areas on down-hole tools and devices.
This paper examines: the coating/deposit properties; application of the coating onto a
substrate; and certain industrial exploitations of the coating.
Keywords: Wear, wear mitigation, coating, thermal spray