DLC Coatings in Oil and Gas Production

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are recognized in many sectors as a promising way of controlling wear and the corrosion performance of components. DLC coatings are well established in the automotive industry where they are applied to the moving parts of direct injection fuel systems operating under frictional conditions at high pressures and in the aggressive environment of the combustion chamber. Over the last few years, there have also been an increasing number of reports of DLC coating applications in oil and gas production contexts, including in pipes, shut-off gates and various types of valves. This paper reviews current efforts to use DLC coatings in the oil and gas sectors and analyses typical coating degradation mechanisms including wear and wear-accelerated corrosion regimes. DLC coating deposition techniques including Physical (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) techniques are elaborated and the unique coating properties obtained from those two methods are assessed. Surface functionalization is discussed including dopants (W and Si) and gradient interlayers. Finally, the outlook for future use of DLC coatings in oil and gas production is discussed.

Deposition of diamond-like carbon coatings: Conventional to non-conventional approaches for emerging markets

“…DLC coatings were also proposed for process industry pipelines about twenty years ago [105] but are now actively emerging in the oil and gas industry due to technological advancements in deposition methods, such as radial anode ion sources [106] and hollow cathode discharge to coat ~ 10 μm [106] thick DLC at inner surfaces of oil and gas pipelines [108]. The uniform axial distribution [109] of DLC coating inside such long tubes and pipelines is still an active research area to enhance product life and performance.…”

Probing fatigue resistance in multi-layer DLC coatings by micro- and nano-impact: Correlation to erosion tests

“…DLC films see many practical applications across industry including razor blades, MEMs devices, cutting tools and as protective coatings for mechanical combustion engines [1,3,15]. More recently, DLC coatings have been seen as a potential protective coatings of flow control devices in oil and gas pipelines [16]. In this application, fatigue resistance is key due to repetitive stresses of hard particle impacts, particularly, sand particle impacts.…”

Effect of sputtering pressure on the surface topography, structure, wettability and tribological performance of DLC films coated on rubber by magnetron sputtering

“…For instance, rubber seals under dynamic working conditions suffer from severe wear because of high contact friction, leading to the failure service of bearings. Thus, robust protective coatings with low coefficient of friction and high wear resistance are highly required [1]. The development of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films has been the focus point in recent years due to its ultralow friction and wear performance under both lubricated and nonlubricated conditions [2][3][4][5][6][7].…”