The energy industry works with components that have to last years, under high loads, with maintenance that is hard to reach. Surface treatment contributes directly to that.
Shot peening for loaded components
Gears, shafts and components under variable loading benefit from shot peening.
The process introduces compressive residual stress in the surface layer. A fatigue crack, which would start at the surface, first has to overcome that compression. The result is an increase in fatigue strength.
It is a design operation, not a workshop one: it is decided together with the part, not after the part has been made.
Composite materials
New energy sources bring materials that classical industry did not treat: composites instead of metal.
Composites call for a different approach. Gentler media and reduced parameters are used, because the polymer matrix and the fibres react differently from steel to the same impact.
Environmentally sound paint removal
Large components are refurbished. Old paint has to be removed, and chemical methods are less and less accepted.
Blasting and dry ice cleaning cover this need without solvents. Dry ice has the advantage of sublimating — no cleaning medium is left to collect, only the removed paint.
What sets the sector apart
Three things:
Part size. Components are large, and installations are sized accordingly.
Documentation. Processes are controlled and recorded.
Expected service life. The work is done for decades of operation, which changes the calculation: an additional finishing operation that extends component life is easily justified.
Related reading
- Power Industry
- What Does Shot Peening Do? Process, Standards and Applications
- Surface integrity and part service life
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