Advanced surface-enhancement technology for decreasing wear and corrosion of equipment used for mineral processing

Equipment wear and corrosion have significant adverse impacts on the operating cost and efficiency of mineral processing plants. In this paper, advanced surface-enhancement technologies are investigated to decrease the wear and corrosion rates of metal surfaces. Enhanced metal surfaces are achieved through surface conversion, enrichment and coating by use of an advanced high-density infrared (HDI) plasma arc lamp. Studies were done to determine the effects of process parameters on surface properties and identify optimum conditions. The microstructure of the enhanced metal surfaces was characterized by SEM, EDS and microindentation. Laboratory wear testing was carried out to investigate the wear performance, and a viable coating candidate was determined.