Energy technology is undergoing global transformation. Rapidly expanding renewable energy and other, more volatile power generation plants require significantly higher flexibility of conventional plants. This has resulted in a number of new challenges for ventilation equipment, including:
An increased number of start and stop operations
Fewer full-load hours
Increased partial load operation
Lower exhaust gas temperatures due to residual heat utilization
Smaller gap to acid dew point
These factors cause an increased load on the systems which carries increased risk of corrosion during operation. This favors dew point corrosion, which can lead to total failure of fans and system components.
TLT-Turbo offers you a tailor-made solution for your plant by implementing effective corrosion protection measures to maintain uptime of your fans.
Efficient Protection against Corrosion
TLT-Turbo Corrosion Protection for fans includes two key actions: Preventing corrosion where possible and protecting components where corrosion cannot be prevented.
Avoiding corrosive conditions:
Preventing or reducing leakage of sealing air
Heating of fan components
Optimization of insulation
Use of corrosion resistant materials:
Weather resistant steel
Polymers and polymeric coatings
Stainless steel
Ni-based coatings or base materials
In order to select the measures suitable to preventing and addressing corrosion on fans operating at your facility, TLT-Turbo conducts an individual corrosion risk assessment. This assessment is based on your operational and environmental conditions.
TLT-Turbo provides further support by conducting an analysis of your specific operating conditions, e.g. on a dew point measurement based on a plant inspection.
Contact TLT-Turbo to discuss your corrosion protection needs and to find the right service package to suit your on-going requirements.
Optimal Protection against Corrosion for Existing Plants
TLT-Turbo conducts corrosion risk assessments and implements suitable preventative measures when designing and manufacturing new fans. These measures can also be carried out when retrofitting existing plants or as part of preventative maintenance during a scheduled shutdown.
Contact your service representative or the TLT-Turbo Service Department for more information on conducting a tailored risk assessment at your facility.
Global ventilation fans
and systems manufacturer, TLT-Turbo GmbH, has spent the past five years
investing in and equipping its on-site test lab. The test lab now provides
streamlined processes for research, advancing product quality and expanded
capabilities for material testing. With a focus on particle impact wear
testing, the test lab is driving innovation forward at TLT-Turbo as the results
help improve product reliability, quality and performance in their final
operating environment.
Patrick Baumgärtner a Research and Development Engineer – and
expert in wear and corrosion protection – at TLT-Turbo, has played an
instrumental role in building up the test lab – located at the TLT-Turbo
Development Centre in Zweibruecken, Germany – to its current capabilities.
Together with Sabine Groh, Industrial Fans Product Manager at TLT-Turbo, they have
been spearheading the current research.
Currently, the core field of research at the test lab is the
testing of new wear-resistant materials and coatings for fan components.
Baumgärtner says that the testing takes place in the lab’s solid particle impact
wear test bench. There, various types of dust or abrasive particles are blasted
onto the test material, varying the angle and speed of the blasting to observe
the resulting wear. “We also carry out caking tests in which we select, for
example, anti-adhesive layers for our fans, in order to find suitable solutions
for customer applications. A further main focus is the analysis of process
residues that can have an abrasive or corrosive effect. Here the composition,
size distributions, pH value and conductivity in the eluate are determined,”
Baumgärtner explains.
(Above) Part of the materials testing laboratory in Zweibrücken
TLT-Turbo’s approach is to continuously test materials,
coatings and components in order to produce fan components that are designed
for performance excellence in any operating environment – no matter how
abrasive. This testing is applied to current and new products in development
but also to samples that are brought in from client sites in order to establish
the wear patterns caused by their specific environment. In this way, TLT-Turbo
is able to provide each client with a customized solution that will last longer
and require less maintenance.
The test lab now offers facilities for metallography, a
stereomicroscope, a pycnometer for determining the density of materials and
coatings, and an automated solid particle impact wear test bench. “The
capabilities of the test lab open a lot of doors for advanced research that
will make a positive contribution to the engineering community at large as
well,” says Baumgärtner. “Under my supervision, studies and thesis research
takes place in the laboratory in cooperation with local colleges and
universities. For me, this is the basis for successfully researching and
developing new solutions in our field.”
According to Groh, the test lab has almost endless
possibilities for the improvement of product delivery to clients. “Our
customers are often operating TLT-Turbo fans in abrasive and/or corrosive
environments. To develop suitable solutions that match the wear resistance
against particle impact we use our automated solid particle impact test bench.
Compressed air accelerates a defined mass flow of abrasive particles to
velocities up to 300 m/s and propels them onto a piece of sample material. This
leads to material loss and wear that we can examine. It is even possible to use original dust from
a customer’s plant to evaluate the most suitable solution for them. By varying
the impact angle we can observe system characteristic wear curves. With this
knowledge we can provide customized solutions for many processes.”
(Above) Exchangeable impeller blade exposed to massive wear
These customized solutions can be best illustrated in the
selection of coatings. This, says Groh, has an immensely positive impact for
TLT-Turbo clients. “If we were to propose a new coating for a customer, the
wear rate of the coating would be determined first. That is the main
scientific-based decision criteria for wear resistant coatings. If the coating
has a superior wear rate compared to other coatings or at least a wear rate
that is on par with other coatings and another beneficial quality such as
anti-stick effect, corrosive resistance or a cost advantage it will be
implemented into TLT´s coating portfolio.”
Groh says that they have also conducted tests that have led
to the development of completely new proprietary coatings. “During the manufacturing
process, coatings were tested to see the influence of welding heat on coating
qualities – such as the development of cracks – to ascertain how to avoid
damage caused by heat or weld splashes. We conducted research and testing on
combining welded coatings and thin layer coating into a Hybrid Coating which
can dramatically increase the operational lifespan of TLT-Turbo fans at their
clients’ plants.”
This is one of numerous examples of how TLT-Turbo’s testing
capability can positively impact ventilation systems across all applications.
“Due to the broad database of wear tests on various materials and coatings, we
are able to offer tailor-made wear protection solutions for various processes
of our customers,” Baumgärtner acknowledges.
(Above) Blasting nozzle and sample holder of test bench
Groh agrees, adding that the wide variety of chemical
compositions and coating conditions such as acceleration of coating powder and
heat development make it extremely difficult to objectively find the best coating
by carrying out testing at a customer plant. “The process of reaching just
initial findings in these conditions is very time consuming. In addition to
this, there is a broad variety of conditions to contend with at different
customer plants that hinder an accurate comparison of different coatings at
different plants. If you test different coatings on one machine you might get a
rough estimation what coating is superior, however different wear rates of
coating cause imbalances in the impeller and vibrations at the fan.”
She elaborates by explaining that finding a precise
comparative measurement on different coatings is impossible without being able
to analyse how the wear rate changes at different angles. “At the test lab we
can control the conditions to find precisely what we are looking for in a
shorter timeframe. Additionally we are able to replicate the fan’s operating
environment. We can run tests using dust collected from the client site while
simulating particle speeds that match the client’s environment to precisely
simulate wear rates.”
In the laboratory environment, the TLT-Turbo team is also
able to determine additional coating properties as they have the capability to
run additional experiments, e.g. corrosive resistance, anti-stick effect,
robustness, heat resistance, suitable application methods, and combination
possibilities like hybrid coatings.
The test lab has afforded TLT-Turbo engineers a deeper
understanding of the mechanisms behind wear and the effects of specialized
solutions. This has led to new approaches in product advancement and
development that are grounded in providing solutions that meet market
requirements.
“The analysis of residues from plants has a great influence
on product development as we are making more informed decisions when choosing
materials for corrosive and abrasive environments,” says Baumgärtner.
This has also had an impact on TLT-Turbo’s aftermarket
service offering. The test lab, has allowed for new customer services can be
generated, such as the performance of specific tests for customers. “The development
of new solutions for specific customer problems is now much faster and more
accurate. Also the suitability of low cost approaches or solutions that allow
for wear induced damages to be repaired on-site integrate effortlessly into TLT-Turbo’s
existing solutions,” Groh concludes.
The test lab enables TLT to continuously improve their
solution portfolio for different customer problems with a focus on wear. The
combination of understanding the client’s exact requirements and challenges and
having a tool that allows engineers to find the best solutions from a
scientific basis are a key factor for success in the market and play an
important role for TLT-Turbo’s on-going product development and quality client
delivery.
TLT-Turbo GmbH builds
radial and axial flow fans for virtually any application. First-rate
engineering, tradition and progress in air handling technology and a worldwide
support network have been the cornerstones of their excellent global renown as
a fan and systems manufacturer for more than 140 years. TLT-Turbo GmbH fans and
the associated system components are deployed successfully all over the globe.
To date over 10,000 fans have already been installed. Their subsidiaries,
branches and agencies span the globe including TLT-Turbo offices in Germany,
China, Austria, Russia, South Korea, USA, Chile, Hungary, Australia, India and
South Africa.
