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Testing updates from Innovation Center Iceland

Thu, 29 October, 2020

Earlier this year, our wellhead testing equipment was retrieved from Hellisheiði power plant where >70 samples were exposed in a geothermal well for 3 months. The samples included all coatings down-selected so far as well as the reference state-of-art materials. Different types of samples - SEM microstructural samples, weight loss measurement samples, U-bend samples, three point bending samples, erosion wear samples and scratch test samples were tested. These samples were subsequently analysed by various partners within the Geo-Coat consortium.

The SEM microstructural samples, weight loss measurement samples and U-bend samples were analysed at Innovation Center Iceland (ICI). The findings so far are quite interesting. Many coatings show promising results and interesting corrosion phenomena have been identified. Some Geo-Coat coatings seem unaffected by the geothermal conditions as compared to the carbon steel, which exhibited significant corrosion after 3 months in the wellhead.

The analysis of the samples tested so far has progressed well. Alongside the on-going analysis, more in-situ testing is being conducted at Hellisheiði powerplant. These are two focused tests, using target specific coatings for specific applications. One tests the scaling and corrosion resistance of the Electroless Nickle Plate (NLP) coatings while the other tests a pipe internally coated using one of the down selected Geo-Coat coatings and then welded to another coated pipe section.

Article Courtesy: Dagur Ingi Ólafsson, ICI