FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND REPAIR OF INDUSTRIAL FANS
Wear plates have long been used to manufacture industrial fans to give the end user acceptable lifetime in service. As end customers look to extend process lifetime to unlock efficiency within their manufacturing processes, the materials within the industrial fan becomes a key consideration in achieving that goal.
ColWear Wear Plates are ideally suited for high-demand industrial fans due to its wear protection, as well as resource and energy efficiencies. ColWear Plates are used in the manufacture and repair of industrial fans to avoid costly down time and replacement.
One of the most demanding environments for industrial fans is the coal-fired power plant. Intense abrasion is a significant problem when particles in the airstream cause the wearing away of the fan surface by friction. This is particularly problematic in the fan blades and scroll housing.
Industrial Fans operating inside a Power Plant
Another challenge is the corrosive environment that is found in petrochemical, chemical processing, or fertilizer processing plants. Here, the fan experiences gradual corrosion due to a reaction with the chemical airstream. Special attention is required to ensure the seal has sufficient corrosion resistance and that the shaft is properly constructed from a suitable alloy. Depending on the severity of the corrosive airstream, all parts of the fan may need to be manufactured from a special material or lined with a wear plate with corrosion resistant properties, such as nickel superalloys, like ColWear.
ColWear Plates protect against the aggressive environments where industrial fans operate - a combination of abrasion, particle erosion, pitting/dusting corrosion, surface oxidation and intergranular corrosion at high temperatures to achieve a longer lifetime in service.
For high temperature environments such as fans, kilns, ovens and furnaces, industrial fans must be able to withstand temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius without failure. In very extreme conditions temperatures can exceed 1000 degrees C. These conditions are mitigated by special attention to the seal on the housing, the housing material, the shaft seal and the use of nickel and cobalt superalloys in the construction material.
ColWear will withstand temperatures of up to 700 degrees Celsius, making it suitable for many of the most difficult high temperature, high corrosion environments, and can also be repaired to avoid costly down time and replacement of critical plant. ColWear with Colmonoy® 62H is particularly well suited for high temperature fans, with proven particle erosion resistance at temperatures up to 815 degrees C.
ColWear Plates are lighter and more uniform than traditional wear-resistant construction materials like chromium carbide or tungsten carbide. This can make the fan far more energy efficient and more balanced, particularly important for the impellers, as it reduces the amount of adjustment required. This generates efficiency improvements resulting in the reduction of energy expenditure, costs, maintenance, and downtime.
“Because of the severity of the abrasion, many fan parts need to be manufactured or repaired from a wear-resistant material – like ColWear. ColWear offers superior wear protection and energy efficiencies due to it being made by Wall Colmonoy’s excellent performing Colmonoy® nickel or Wallex® cobalt alloys and its lightweight construction,” explains Dr. Lewis Berry.
ColWear Plates can be manufactured with both mild and stainless-steel base materials, and higher-grade nickel alloys. The materials allow it to withstand higher temperatures and therefore higher rotational speeds, so that fan performance is enhanced and not limited by rotational speed of the impeller.
To learn more, visit colwear.co.uk
Or download our ColWear Plates Industrial Fans flyer
