RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
As corrosion experts we do not want to offer our customers just any solution. It always has to be the very best. As a consequence, we continuously develop and enhance our products and solutions. The basis for this is our intensive research, with which we promote innovation in the field of corrosion protection. Thereby ensuring that our customers always receive the best solution for their requirements.
NEWS FROM OUR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
DELTA-HEAT® IS SUCCESSFULLY QUALIFIED FOR KLIMAEXPO.NRW
Dörken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co. KG, Herdecke has been awarded the NRW Efficiency Prize 2015 for its Delta-Heat® high temperature coating. The coating was developed specifically for high temperature corrosion protection in steel processing. The new coating system was created in co-operation with VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH and Walzwerken Einsal GmbH. The project budget for the development of the new product was funded proportionately by the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD) and state funding.
EXPOSURE TESTING ON THE FINO 2 IN THE NORTH SEA AND BALTIC SEA
Components of wind energy units, such as metric bolts, are exposed to high stresses on a daily basis and are therefore required to satisfy numerous requirements with regard to corrosion protection. Having a coating tailored to the specific requirements is therefore all the more important. Only in this way can long-lasting functionality be enabled. In the laboratory, different test procedures are applied to test or examine the surface coatings of components used in wind energy units. Although these provide numerous findings regarding the assessment and optimisation of the corrosion resistance of components, they are only able to simulate the various everyday stresses and can never reflect these in their entire complexity.
Photo: Mirco Kaiser, DNV GL – Energy
For this reason, in 2013 Dörken MKS launched outdoor weathering testing on the FINO 2 in co-operation with GL – Germanischer Lloyd SE. FINO 2 is a research platform in the North Sea and Baltic Sea which was built in 2007. The objective of the tests of Dörken MKS is to examine, as realistically as possible, the surface coatings of fasteners that are used in particular in the fastening of rotor blades or connecting of tower sections. On the FINO 2 there are ideal conditions for analysing and assessing the effects of salty sea air, direct sunshine and varying temperatures on the corrosion protection coating.
INSTALLATION
For the purpose of long-term observation, six surface protection systems on five bolts respectively have been installed on the research platform: these include various Dörken MKS zinc flake systems, a galvanic system and bolts galvanised with the hot-dip method – a further reference system typically utilised with the component. The bolts were pre-installed on two plastic fixtures. To enable the assessment of different corrosion stresses, two of these fixtures were each installed at two different levels on the FINO 2: at 12.5 metres above standard zero and 25 metres above standard zero. Since 2013 photographic documentation and evaluation of the components have been conducted at regular intervals.
INITIAL FINDINGS
Despite the high climatic stresses and the years spent in situ, the bolts coated with zinc flake systems display no signs of base metal corrosion whatsoever – neither at 12.5 m above standard zero nor at 25 m above standard zero.
Comparison at 12.5 m above standard zero: the coated and installed bolts at the beginning of the project in 2013 (left) and the same bolts photographed in September 2018 (right).
Comparison at 25 m above standard zero: the coated and installed bolts at the beginning of the project in 2013 (left) and the same bolts photographed in September 2018 (right).
The tests remain ongoing and further test pieces with additional coating systems have been added.
Click here for the homepage of the research platform FINO 2.