Influence of Boronizing on Steel Performance under Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Conditions Simulating Downhole Oil Production
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (1)
- Their structure, composition and properties;
- (2)
- Design and geometry of production components;
- (3)
- Process conditions, which include nature of the processing media (abrasive and corrosive) and service/application conditions, including pressure, temperature, character and hydrodynamics of flows, velocity, angle of impact, etc.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Starting Materials and Processing
2.2. Abrasion and Slurry Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Testing Units and Testing Process
2.3. Materials Examination
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Protective Layer Characterization
3.2. Dry Sand Abrasion Testing Results
3.3. Slurry Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Testing Results
- High hardness of iron borides (significantly higher than processing particles and steel);
- Double-layer coating architecture consisting of both well-consolidated microcrystallined hard sub-layers, e.g., the Fe2B sub-layer covering the steel substrate and the top FeB sub-layer that is harder than Fe2B and which is in contact with processing environments;
- Saw-tooth structure of both iron boride layers and their substantial thickness (a total thickness of at least ~200 µm or greater) promote the coating integrity owing to reduced micro-crack propagation, which is related to micro-cracks’ bridging and deflection at the testing/application conditions;
- Micro-cracks healing, which also delays their propagation, due to oxidation of the iron boride in the micro-crack surface in contact with water-based slurries; the oxidized iron boride nano-size layer on the surface of iron borides serves as a “tribo-film” reducing friction between the counterparts;
- Diffusion induced bonding between the iron boride layers and the steel substrate with no delamination issues, as well as the softer and significantly more ductile steel substrate, supporting a hard iron boride layer (serving like a “cushion” and a stress-relaxator), also reduce the crack propagation positively affecting wear resistance;
- High chemical inertness of iron borides defined by short and strong covalent Fe–B bonds and high the crystalline lattice energy (enthalpy) and their micro-crystalline structure.
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Steel | C | Si | Mn | Cu | Cr | Ni | Mo | Al | S + P | Ti/Sn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J55 | 0.26 | 0.18 | 1.30 | 0.21 | 0.15 | 0.13 | 0.012 | 0.03 | 0.017 | 0.008 |
A36/44 | 0.20 | 0.18 | 0.77 | 0.22 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.02 | 0.002 | 0.041 | 0.012 |
410SS | 0.12 | 0.30 | 0.70 | 0.077 | 12.6 | 0.75 | 0.037 | 0.004 | 0.035 | - |
Test Conditions | Bare Steel Tube Wall Thickness Loss | Boronized Steel Tube (EndurAlloy®) Wall Thickness Loss | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
mm | % | mm | % | |
~113.5 kg, 523 rpm, 3.5 L/min water-oil-starch slurry with 5% sand (325–200 mesh) | ||||
93 h | 3.8–6.81 | up to 100 | Up to 1.05 | up to 15 |
~68 kg, 265 rpm, 3.5 L/min water-oil-slurry with 5% sand (325–200 mesh) | ||||
48 h | 2.33–3.51 | 33–50 | 0.44–0.64 | ~8 |
~22.7 kg, 130 rpm, 3.5 L/min water-oil slurry with sand 3% (325 mesh) | ||||
19 h | 0.46–1.22 | 7–18 | 0.01 | ~0.15 |
38 h | 1.06–2.52 | 15.5–37 | 0.02 | ~0.3 |
~22.7 kg, 130 rpm, 3.5 L/min water-oil-1% NaCl slurry with sand 5% (325 mesh) | ||||
19 h | 0.6–1.3 | 8.5–19 | 0.01 | ~0.15 |
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Medvedovski, E.; Leal Mendoza, G.; Vargas, G. Influence of Boronizing on Steel Performance under Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Conditions Simulating Downhole Oil Production. Corros. Mater. Degrad. 2021, 2, 293-324. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cmd2020016
Medvedovski E, Leal Mendoza G, Vargas G. Influence of Boronizing on Steel Performance under Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Conditions Simulating Downhole Oil Production. Corrosion and Materials Degradation. 2021; 2(2):293-324. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cmd2020016
Chicago/Turabian StyleMedvedovski, Eugene, Gerardo Leal Mendoza, and Giovanny Vargas. 2021. "Influence of Boronizing on Steel Performance under Erosion-Abrasion-Corrosion Conditions Simulating Downhole Oil Production" Corrosion and Materials Degradation 2, no. 2: 293-324. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cmd2020016