FRACTURE-RESISTANT SELF-LUBRICATING WEAR SURFACES

• US 20160177959A1
• Filed: 08/03/2014
• Published: 06/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Inventors: Madhavan, Raghu, Marya, Manuel P., Roy, Indranil
• Granted Patent: US 10,233,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 103/04 Metals; Alloys
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/10 Bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 1/00 Radial-flow pumps, e.g. centrifugal pumps; Helico-centrifugal pumps adapted for pumping specific fluids F04D7/00; priming or boosting F04D9/00
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/08 for submerged use
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/10 adapted for use in mining bore holes
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/026 especially adapted for liquid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/0473 for radial pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/056 Bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/061 especially adapted for liquid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/167 of a centrifugal flow wheel
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/5893 heat insulation or conduction
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2280/2006 Carbon, e.g. graphite
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2280/20082 of boron
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2300/10 Metals, alloys or intermetallic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2300/17 Alloys
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2300/20 Oxide or non-oxide ceramics
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2300/608 Microstructure
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2204/10 Alloys based on copper
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2204/34 Alloys based on tin
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2204/52 Alloys based on nickel, e.g. Inconel
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2204/80 : Amorphous alloys
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2223/70 : by electroplating or electrolytic coating, e.g. anodising, galvanising in general C25D
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/121 : Use of special materials

Abstract

Fracture-resistant and self-lubricating wear surfaces are provided. In an implementation, a machine surface that is subject to wear is coated with or is constructed of a metallic nanostructure to resist the wear and to provide fracture-resistant hardness, built-in lubrication, and thermal conductivity for heat-sinking friction. The metallic nanostructured surface may be used, for example, on a face seal, bushing, bearing, thrust member, or hydraulic flow passage of an electric submersible pump. In an implementation, the metallic nanostructured surface is a nanocrystalline alloy including nanograin twins of a body-centered cubic (BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), or hexagonal closest packed (HCP) metal. The nanostructured alloy may include atoms of copper, silver, gold, iron, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, beryllium, magnesium, titanium, zirconium, or cobalt, and may provide more hardness and lubricity than diamond-like carbon coatings or carbides.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a machine component;

a surface of the machine component subject to wear; and

a metallic nanostructure on the surface to resist the wear and to provide a hardness, a lubrication, and a thermal conductivity to the surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the entire machine component comprises the metallic nanostructure.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure is disposed on the surface by one of deposition, electrolysis, sputtering, plating, electroplating, or coating.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the machine component comprises one of a face seal, a bushing, a bearing, a thrust member, a fluid-facing surface, or a hydraulic flow passage of an electric submersible pump.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises has a thickness of one of approximately a micron thick, approximately a millimeter thick, approximately a centimeter thick, or a thickness replacing the entire machine component.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises a nanocrystalline alloy including twins of metallic nanocrystals of a cubic crystal system.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the twins comprise icosahedral twins of metallic crystals of a body-centered cubic (BCC), a face-centered cubic (FCC), or a hexagonal closest packed (HCP) crystal system.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises an alloy of one of copper, silver, gold, iron, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, beryllium, magnesium, titanium, zirconium, or cobalt.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises an alloy of copper, nickel, or tin, created with an ultra low-friction coefficient.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, and iron as a main chemical element complemented by an alloying element selected from the group consisting of silicon, molybdenum, tungsten, lead, tin, indium, silver, and carbon.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure is partially crystalline, partially amorphous, and comprises a metallic glassy alloy or a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating having variable fractions of sp2 and sp3 orbital bonds.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure includes nanostructured or twinned boron nitride in cubic or hexagonal form.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises nano-size metallic grains and atomic layer thick ceramics.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises aluminum nitride surrounding nano-size grain aluminum.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure is infused with a liquid lubricant or a nanosized solid lubricant selected from the group consisting of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), tungsten disulfide (WS₂), hexagonal-boron nitride (hBN), graphite, diamond, and graphene.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure is hydrophobic and/or oleophilic to enhance lubricity and improve a water-sealing performance.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a surface chemical property of the metallic nanostructure is determined by a surface texturization at a nanoscale level.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metallic nanostructure includes nanovoids comprising one of TixSiyCzN, SixCyNz, or SixNy.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the nanovoids are filled with a lubricant.

20. A system, comprising:

an electric submersible pump;

a component of the electric submersible pump subject to wear; and

a metallic nanostructured surface of the component for resisting the wear by providing a hardness, a lubrication, and a thermal conductivity to the component.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the component comprises one of a face seal, a bushing, a bearing, a thrust member, a fluid-facing surface, or a hydraulic flow passage of the electric submersible pump.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface comprises a nanocrystalline alloy including nanograin twins of metallic crystals of a body-centered cubic (BCC), a face-centered cubic (FCC), or a hexagonal closest packed (HCP) crystal system of at least one metal.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface comprises an alloy of one of copper, silver, gold, iron, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, beryllium, magnesium, titanium, zirconium, or cobalt.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface comprises an alloy of copper, nickel, or tin, created with an ultra low-friction coefficient.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, and iron as a main chemical element complemented by an alloying element selected from the group consisting of silicon, molybdenum, tungsten, lead, tin, indium, silver, and carbon.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface includes twinned boron nitride in cubic or hexagonal form.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructure comprises nano-size metallic grains and atomic layer thick ceramics.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface comprises aluminum nitride surrounding nano-size grain aluminum.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the metallic nanostructured surface is infused with a liquid lubricant or a nanosized solid lubricant selected from the group consisting of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), tungsten disulfide (WS₂), hexagonal-boron nitride (hBN), graphite, diamond, and graphene.

30. A method, comprising:

determining at least one wear surface of an electric submersible pump; and

creating a metallic nanostructured layer on the surface including nanograins and nanograin twins of a metal for providing a hardness, a lubrication, and a thermal conductivity to the wear surface.