Jim-Rex Lawson MOSES
In the oil and gas Industry, invested capital declines in value unless machineries are properly maintained.

Experts say that corrosion and wear of machinery parts are a major problem in the offshore drilling business. Offshore oil and gas platforms are subjected to hostile corrosive marine environments, which require continuous preventive and corrective maintenance to ensure prolonged and safe operations.

Millions of premium pipes and couplings are used in oil fields every year. Many of these connectors suffer galling due to a combination of extreme tensional and compressional forces. The galling of the threads of the connectors is at best a nuisance resulting in a leak, but at worst a disaster as the pipe and connector weld together causing expensive time wasting and the loss of pipe lengths and connectors.

In realization of the foregoing, Tricontinental Technologies Limited, a division of the Tricontinental Group has developed a new technology called the DALIC Selective Process – for rebuilding worn components and for filling in damage such as corrosion or erosion of expensive or badly needed parts – through electroplating, on site, on oil and gas platforms.

WHAT IS DALIC TECHNOLOGY?

DALIC Technology is a mobile system for adding metal to metal. The process is, in fact, a special type of metalizing but with far better adhesion, less porosity and more precise thickness control than spray, flame, or plasma types of metalizing or welding techniques, no heat is generated. Therefore, no internal stresses are imparted to the part. The end result is the user is concerned with neither thermal distortion nor cracking.

DALIC Technology works like an arc welder. A DC power pack has two flexible leads, one going to the work and the other connecting to one of a number of working tools “styli”. Anodes of different sizes and shapes (round, flat, concave, and convex) are connected to the end of the styli. The anodes are wrapped with an absorbent material. The covered anodes are dipped into the DALIC solutions or the solutions are flow-fed to the area when mechanized operations are used. A positive (+) connection from the DC power pack is connected to the work tool and the negative (-) is connected to the work piece. An electrical circuit is completed either when the wrapped tool is moved over the metal work piece or by moving the work piece under the wrapped tool. With the completion of this electrical circuit, metal deposits from the liquid solutions onto the base metal. The deposition rate is very rapid, often times at the rate of 0.05mm per minute.

WHERE IS THE DALIC TECHNOLOGY USED?

Anywhere industry needs metal build-up for repair, resizing, metal restoration, or replacement coatings for mechanical, electrical, or corrosion resistant properties. DALIC installations are now used in service world-wide in Aircraft overhaul; Marine maintenance; Offshore oil drilling; Plastic, Rubber, or Glass moulding; calendaring; Offset & Gravure printing; Power generation and Turbine repair; Railway maintenance.

HOW MANY COATINGS MAY BE APPLIED?

Over 100 primary metals or binary or territory alloys can be deposited with the DALIC Technology. Examples are: Babbitt, Cadmium LHE, Copper, Cobalt, Gold, Lead, Lead-Tin, Nickel, Nickel-Tungsten, Rhodium, Silver, Tin, Tin-Indium, and Zinc. The end-user’s application governs which coating is selected.

WHAT IS THE COST JUSTIFICATION FOR THE DALIC TECHNOLOGY?

Most DALIC customers save the cost of their DALIC installation within the first six months of application. A DALIC Technology installation is possibly the most cost effective capital equipment any company will ever purchase.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DALIC’S DEPOSITS?

First and foremost, an excellent bond. In contrast to spray type metalizing where a mechanical bond is achieved, the DALIC Technology results in a molecular bond. This bond is achieved on any base metal such as aluminum, cast iron, cast steel, stainless steel, tool steels, chrome, beryllium copper, brass, or bronze.