Developing Wear Resistant Surface Coating Material for Mechanical Face Seal Application

Important results from the project

The project aimed to develop and evaluate powder and process for laser cladded surface coating of mechanical face seals, as well as assess the possibility of commercialization of powders and rings. The project developed powders and components in order to assess wear performance, processability and quality in relation to the requirement profile, which is primarily defined by the existing solution. Unfortunately, the quality and performance of the tested rings did not reach the levels that had been required to take the product further.

Expected long term effects

The materials designed met the criteria set in terms of microstructure and processability. The materials performed well in the idealized tests (block on ring). However, testing in the product owner Federal Mogul´s test rig for mechanical face seals showed that quality and lifetime did not reach the targets under more realistic conditions. Based on the results of this project, the project owner will thus not commercialize the solution.

Approach and implementation

In stage 1, a complete production and evaluation chain was carried out using a screening test for wear on several material/process candidates. During stage 2, a few candidates were selected, and an in-depth test was carried out. Höganäs designed and developed powder (AP1) and developed laser coating processen (AP2). Chalmers and Höganäs performed the analysis of microstructures and abrasion testing (block on ring). The Federal Mogul provided the project with reference material and conducted abrasion testing and part testing. They also implemented quality and cost estimates.