Session: 03-02 Metals: Design for AM - Industrial Applications

Paper Number: 93954

93954 - Next Generation Additvely Manufactured Sleeve to Mitigate Thermal Stresses in Oil & Gas Severe Service Applications 

Damage has occurred in various oil and gas  severe service applications, particularly when equipment is subjected to thermal shock.  It has been shown that catalyst injection and withdrawal valves in Ebullated Bed hydrocracking reactors exposed to daily thermal cycles from ambient to operating temperatures of about 450C are prone to thermal cracking.

Several solutions have been developed to mitigate the effects of thermacl fatigue and cracking induced in service. The solutions currently in use include the pre-heating of the valves and the addition of thermal barrier coated sleeves. While these solutions have achieved some success, they continue to present shortcomings.

Leveraging additive manufacturing technology, the Hexa-shield sleeve was developed by Velan as an alternative solution to  mitigate the thermal fatigue. The Hexa-shield sleeve, made of Inconel 718 material, is intrinsically designed to provide thermal insulation. To assess thermal insulation and stress reduction performance of the Hexa-shield sleeve, a finite element analysis simulation was developed and compared with thermal shock results obtained experimentally. The results show temperature gradient and average stress reduction of 50% and 70 %, respectively. This presentation outlines the challenges encountered during design development and additive manufacturing. The successful utilization of additive manufactring technology to mitigate thermal stresses will be highlighted. 

Presenting Author: Fadila Khelfaoui Velan

Presenting Author Biography: Professional engineer with Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. Fadila Khelfaoui has 25 years of combined experience in materials, coatings and related processes. <br/>She joined Velan in 2016 as Corporate Engineer, Metallurgy and acts as a subject matter expert working on both short-and long-term R&amp;D projects. Recently, her interest is focused on leveraging additive manufacturing in valve industry, including new product development.

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