Materials for extreme environment
The CME team has developed bespoke testing rigs to study materials and coatings performance in extreme wear, corrosion, oxidation and erosion-corrosion. The rigs were developed in collaboration with oil and gas, fossil fuel, biomass, hydrogen and nuclear industries.
The coatings developed in Nottingham are studied in simulated environment for several thousand hours to understand the materials degradation mechanisms. By carefully understanding the degradation behaviour, we can design coatings which are suitable for commercial applications in extreme conditions. We quantify the material degradation using statistical methods and the data is used to develop life-time prediction models of the components.
In CME team, we currently have high temperature flow-loop steam oxidation rig to study coatings for boiler pipes and steam turbines, controlled environment high temperature corrosion test rig for gas turbines and boilers and high temperature erosion-corrosion test rig for fluidised bed. These are all focused on developing materials for Ultra Super Critical (USC) power plants with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facilities. We also have access to autoclave test facilities to study material degradation in hydrothermal corrosion.
In summary, our research falls into the following categories:
- High temperature deposit induced corrosion in complex gases
- Steam oxidation of alloys and coatings
- Erosion-corrosion behaviour of materials in combustion gases
- Hydrothermal corrosion of alloys and coatings
Our research topics