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Cracking of a Cobalt-Based Hardfacing of a Gate Valve Disk in a Desalination Power Plant

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Abstract

Cobalt-based alloys of the Stellite family are used as hardfacing for sealing surfaces of valves operating in desalination and power plants because of their excellent low friction and anti-galling properties in high-load sliding contact under the prevailing conditions. However, insufficient control of pressure and temperature during operation can degrade the integrity of the hardfaced material thus leading to its premature failure. This article presents a failure investigation carried out on the disk of a main stop gate valve that was used in a desalination plant. The disk was manufactured from X20 as a substrate material and a cobalt-based alloy for hardfacing. The cobalt-based hardfacing suffered from many surface and subsurface cracks that degraded its integrity. It was concluded that high-pressure steam flowing against the disk had tilted it and, thus, disturbed the alignment between the surfaces of the disk and the seat, leading to wear and large frictional heat that resulted in the degradation of the microstructure of the hardfacing layer and formation of the observed cracks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research through the use of their facilities in sample preparation, optical metallography, and scanning electron microscopy. The authors are also grateful to Eng. B. S. Hussain for his help and cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manufacturing Engineering Technology Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, P.O. Box 42325, 70654, Shuwaikh, Kuwait

    A. Almazrouee

  2. Power Plant, Ministry of Electricity and Water, Kuwait City, Kuwait

    S. Al-Faheed

  3. Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109, Safat, Kuwait

    H. M. Shalaby

Authors
  1. A. Almazrouee
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  2. S. Al-Faheed
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  3. H. M. Shalaby
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Correspondence to A. Almazrouee.

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Almazrouee, A., Al-Faheed, S. & Shalaby, H.M. Cracking of a Cobalt-Based Hardfacing of a Gate Valve Disk in a Desalination Power Plant. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 22, 1436–1442 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0413-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0413-y

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