InnerArmor Coating Halts Erosion

Erosive wear can be caused when solid particles or small drops of liquid or gas strike a surface. Internal erosion is a serious and expensive problem for many processes in many industries, such as in coal conversion plants and in pipes transporting oil or gas having high sand content. Erosion causes parts to lose effectiveness and fail faster. It also negatively impacts flow dynamics.

Many factors influence erosion: impact velocity, impact angle and particle hardness, shape and size. Hard materials exhibit higher erosive wear at high impact angles, while ductile materials exhibit higher wear at low impact angles. Brittle materials have maximum erosion at 90 degrees, while ductile metals have maximum erosion at ~20 degrees. Cutting wear dominates at low impact angles and deformation wear dominates at high angles. The erosion rate is also proportional to the energy of the eroding particle.

The unique InnerArmor protection

Sub-One InnerArmor coatings provide an unprecedented level of protection against erosion because they offer a unique combination of hardness, smoothness and low coefficient of friction. Plus, the fact that InnerArmor is made of layers allows its coating characteristics to be adjusted to an application simply by adjusting the thickness and composition of individual layers. For example, the toughness factor can be increased for an erosion application just by changing the chemistry of a layer.

Ultimately, the proof is in the performance. And in industry-standard testing, InnerArmor erosion resistance has been clearly and dramatically demonstrated. As summarized in the chart above, InnerArmor coating easily passes the full ten minutes of the abrasive air jet test, sustaining no surface damage at all. By comparison, uncoated steel begins to show surface erosion within seconds! This is why InnerArmor is the natural choice whenever internal erosion is in the picture.