Amorphous Inner Pipe Coating for Small-Diameter Corrosion Resistance

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for coating pipes with small inner diameters struggle to maintain an amorphous structure and achieve high corrosion and wear resistance due to limitations in thermal spraying equipment, making it difficult to apply effective coatings to pipes with diameters less than 3 inches or a length-to-diameter ratio of 1:2.

Innovation Solution

A method involving the formation of a thermal sprayed coating layer using Fe-based amorphous alloy powder on a plate, which is then shaped into a pipe and seam-sealed to maintain the amorphous structure, ensuring high coating density, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance, even for small diameter pipes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If thermal spraying equipment is used to coat pipe inner surfaces, then coating can be applied to large diameter pipes, but it becomes impossible to coat small diameter pipes (less than 3 inches) due to equipment limitations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoating applicability to different pipe sizesVSAvoidthermal spraying equipment limitations

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of coating the pipe inner surface directly through the pipe (conventional approach), the invention inverts the process by coating the outer surface of a plate first, then forming the pipe. This allows standard thermal spraying equipment to coat large flat surfaces easily, and the coating is subsequently formed into the pipe shape, making small diameter pipes coatable without specialized equipment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The coating is applied to the plate before the pipe forming operation. By performing the coating action in advance on a flat plate surface (which is easier to access and coat uniformly), the subsequent pipe forming simply transfers the pre-coated surface into the final pipe structure, eliminating the need to coat inside the finished pipe

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If conventional coating methods are used on pipe inner surfaces, then coating can be applied, but the amorphous structure cannot be maintained and coating density is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveamorphous structure maintenanceVSAvoidcoating density

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes the coating material parameters by using Fe-based amorphous alloy powder with specific compositional ranges (Fe: 70-90 wt%, Cr: 5-20 wt%, Mo: 3-10 wt%, B: 0.1-5 wt%). These parameter changes enable the coating to maintain amorphous structure after thermal spraying, achieving both high coating density and structural reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses a composite amorphous alloy coating material combining multiple elements (Fe, Cr, Mo, B) that work together to maintain the amorphous phase during thermal spraying. This composite material approach ensures both coating density and amorphous structure preservation, which neither single-element nor conventional alloys could achieve

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

3Productivity

If pipes with small inner diameters are coated using existing methods, then coating application is attempted, but the process becomes extremely difficult or impossible due to equipment constraints

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoating efficiency on small pipesVSAvoidcoating process feasibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

By inverting the sequence to coat the plate outer surface before pipe formation, the invention enables efficient coating of large flat surfaces using standard equipment, then simply forms the pipe. This approach makes small diameter pipes as easy to coat as large pipes, dramatically improving productivity and ease of manufacture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The method efficiently coats pipes with small diameters, maintaining an amorphous structure and enhancing corrosion and wear resistance, while improving manufacturing productivity and coating density, thus addressing the limitations of existing technologies.

Implementation Method 1

forming a thermal sprayed coating layer on a surface of a plate using an Fe-based amorphous alloy

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal spraying:

Implementation Method 2

the coating layer is an alloy or metal layer of a material different from a material of the pipe and contains an amorphous phase in a proportion of equal to or greater than 90%

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPhase transition: Phase Change

Data Source

PatentUS12129955B2Amorphous inner-coated pipe and method for producing same

Publication Date: 2024.10.29 ATTOMETAL TECH PTE LED

AI summary

Disclosed is a coated pipe having an amorphous inner surface and a method of manufacturing the same, whereby an amorphous alloy powder is coated on an inner surface of the pipe, thus ensuring that an amorphous structure is maintained after coating and thus coating density, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance of the pipe are improved. The coated pipe having an amorphous inner surface includes: a pipe; and a coating layer provided on an inner surface of the pipe, wherein the coating layer is an alloy or metal layer of a material different from a material of the pipe and contains an amorphous phase in a proportion of equal to or greater than 90%.