Characterization of Fly Ash and a Protective Coating for Brazilian Thermal Power Plant Boilers

Thermoelectric power plants that use mineral coal show high wear in heat exchanger due to the action of several damage mechanisms associated with the impact of hard particles from the residue of burnt coal, the ashes. The employment of coatings should be given into consideration particularly for critical components, which are subject to severe erosive conditions is one of the solutions. However, the choice of material will depend on several factors, including the properties of aggressive ashes. This paper aims to characterize ashes generated by a Brazilian coal-based power plant and a FeCrNbNi-based metallic coating obtained by the electric arc spraying process. No trace of sulfur content was found in fly ashes and it was defined that wear is mainly related to the impact and energy of hard particles are the leading causes of degradation in coal-fired boiler equipment. According to the assessment, applied coating showed (5 ± 2)% by volume of pores and cracks, with 1.6% of oxides after the spraying process and hardness 35% greater than ash particles. Preliminary results in field operation suggest that the material showed relatively low wear compared to the original substrate and showed great applicability in controlling material deterioration for this purpose.

Keywords:
Thermoelectric; fly ash; thermal spraying; metallic coating