Oil & Gas Well Valves

Situation:

One of the world’s largest suppliers of products and services to the oil and gas industry designed a valve used in well completion. In an effort to provide wear resistance, the ball and seat surfaces were coated with boron nitride (BN). Wear resistance improved somewhat, but friction with the ball still caused it to wear faster than desired. In addition, valve torque was unacceptably high.

Key Solution Requirements:

Candidate coatings and/or alternative materials had to:

  • Significantly reduce the valve torque and seat wear
  • Operate across a very wide temperature range
  • Not create an explosion risk with potentially explosive gases encountered in the design usage scenario
  • Not interfere with sealing of the valve surfaces
  • Be compatible with, and adhere to, the boron nitride.

The ideal solution would not require redesign or re-specification of the existing valve.

Solution:

The manufacturer tested a variety of potential coating solutions against the requirements. Dicronite® dry
lubrication was found to meet the requirements, resulting in:

  • Significantly reduced seat wear and valve torque due to its ultra-low coefficient friction.
  • Excellent valve sealing
  • No increased explosion risk to it's compatibility with liquid and gaseous oxygen
  • Excellent adhesion to the boron nitride substrate

No redesign of the valve was required due to Dicronite® dry lubrication's 0.5 micron thickness.

Results:

Adding Dicronite® dry lubrication to the BN coated ball and seat surfaces significantly extended the life of the valve and is now a requirement in the well valve design.

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Sliding Wear

Sliding wear occurs when two surfaces slide against one another causing material loss to one or both surfaces. Over time, this can result in component failures, additional maintenance, and costly down time.  

Coating components with Dicronite® can help minimize this wear and reduce the need for maintenance and down time.

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Tight Tolerance Lubrication

Extremely tight tolerances can present challenges when lubricants or coatings are needed to reduce friction. Many products are available to help reduce friction, but in the case of very tight tolerances, few can be integrated without the need for adjustments.

Dicronite® has an average thickness of 0.5 microns (0.00002 inch) or less. This precision thin film allows users to incorporate Dicronite® on designs with tight tolerances without the need for design or manufacturing changes.

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Vacuum Environment Lubrication

Vacuum environments present a challenge for lubrication. Many conventional lubricants aren’t effective under vacuum and are largely vaporized.

Dicronite® can be used in vacuum to reduce friction where other lubricants can’t function. The outgassing of Dicronite® under vacuum conditions is well below screening levels for spacecraft materials per ASTM E595.

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Energy Lost to Friction

Friction is wasted energy! Systems with critical mechanical power output need to be extremely efficient.

Dicronite® optimizes mechanical efficiency by reducing friction losses and can even work in tandem with existing lubrication to further optimize efficiency.

Dicronite® is especially useful in precision systems, extreme environments, or where minimizing size and weight is vital.

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Fretting

Fretting is a unique form of sliding wear that occurs when contact surfaces oscillate over a very small range of motion. Although it may seem minor, this surface wear can ultimately lead to fatigue cracking and devastating damage.

Dicronite® helps remedy fretting by providing lubrication at contact surfaces. This effectively reduces the wear and surface stresses that cause so much damage.

Dicronite® can be integrated into existing designs and assemblies without any other adjustments for seamless reduction of fretting wear.

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Extreme Temperature Lubrication

Extreme low or high temperatures can be challenging environments for lubrication. At low temperatures, conventional lubricants may be too viscous to be effective, while extreme high temperatures can result in breakdown of the lubricant.

Dicronite can be used in extreme environments to ensure effective lubrication while also being used in combination with oils and greases.

Dicronite is stable across a wide temperature range:

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Excessive Heat from Friction

As friction in an assembly generates heat, elevated temperatures can result in unwanted operating conditions.

This can cause overheating and accelerate the breakdown of materials, resulting in costly maintenance and down time or destructive failure.

Proper lubrication can help minimize friction, reduce heat, and increase mechanical efficiency. Coat parts with Dicronite® to avoid excessive maintenance and ensure components will run as efficiently as possible.

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