As Hard as Diamond and Extremely Resistant to Corrosion and Abrasion
SICcast® EP135 mineral casting – a special material for use in mechanical engineering
As hard as diamond, extremely durable against abrasion and immune to corrosion, and resilient to thermal shock and to impact – SICcast® components are manufactured from a silicon carbide and binding agent compound in a mineral casting process and achieve their outstanding properties thanks to the hot curing. Typical SICcast® products include pump housings and impellers, nozzles, cyclones and reducer elements for pipes, among others.
Pump manufacturers are often faced with the challenge that wetted components – such as the housing and impeller – have to meet strict demands in terms of corrosion and abrasion. In the chemical industry – but also during flue gas desulfurization and the desalinization of seawater, for example – the pumps convey highly corrosive media, while the wetted components are also bombarded with abrasive particles (e.g. sand) in other fields of application, such as the raw materials industry and mining industry.
Over 25 years ago, the Duechting Group developed a new material for meeting these challenges. SICcast® EP135 is a silicon carbide (SiC) with a Mohs hardness of 9.7 (in comparison, diamond has a Mohs hardness of 10) that is bonded using a special hot-curing epoxy resin.
The material is free from metal, highly chemical resistant, non-magnetic and has hardness comparable to diamond. Wear on components made from SICcast® EP135 is thus extremely low, even in unfavorable conditions and when using abrasive and corrosive media – such as pumps used for flue gas desulfurization and the desalinization of seawater. Even high-alloy stainless steels are sometimes unsuitable in such applications due to their susceptibility to corrosion.
Due to the chemical bonding of the epoxy resin, the material is highly ductile and is thus also resistant to thermal shock and impacts. It also helps to reduce noise and vibrations, which is particularly beneficial when used in pump components, for example. The temperature-controlled, unpressurized casting process means that extremely low shrinkage levels and a correspondingly high degree of dimensional accuracy can be achieved – an important requirement when manufacturing components for machines and systems.
Moreover, SICcast® Mineralguss GmbH & Co. KG, a Duechting Group company, also manufactures customized parts made from mineral castings for various clients. The production facilities allow for the manufacture of mineral casting components with weights of 1 kg to 8 tons and with high dimensional accuracy. Any necessary surface finishing or machining to a fine tolerance can be achieved with the use of diamond cutting tools, hile the threaded connections are cast directly with the help of corrosion-resistant casted inserts.
SICcast® EP135 is becoming increasingly popular in a number of fields – predominantly among international companies working in mechanical and plant engineering. Additionally, SICcast® has also developed other highly wear-resistant materials, including the spreadable silicon carbide composite SIConit®. SIConit® is ideally suited to repair work and can be applied using a number of different techniques. This ensures the reliable protection of surfaces that are subject to erosion, abrasion and/or corrosion.
A new addition to the material portfolio is SICcastplus®, a patented ceramic material based on silicon carbide (SiSiC) that combines the highest possible wear resistance with durability against chemical corrosion and a temperature resistance of up to 1100 °C. The development phase for this material – in which SICcast® was assisted by renowned research institutions in the field – has been completed, and will now be followed by the commercialization phase.
SICcast® mineral casting is used in the production of heavy-duty pump impellers, among other applications.
The extremely wear-resistant material is also suitable for the repair and refurbishment of existing components.
About DUECHTING PUMPEN
DUECHTING PUMPEN is a third generation family-owned, German company based in the Ruhr area with 77 years of experience in the design and production of high quality centrifugal pumps for industrial applications, among others in seawater desalination (reverse osmosis), flue gas desulfurization, in mining and in the chemical industry.
The company offers the right solution for almost any industrial application, in which the transport of liquids plays a role. The product range comprises mainly single- and multi-stage centrifugal pumps for pressures up to 250 bar and flow rates up to 20,000 m3 / h. Around 120 staff members are committed to excellence, team spirit and commitment to the company and its products. DUECHTING PUMPEN has subsidiaries in North and South America, Russia and sales and service partners in over 25 countries worldwide.
For more information visit www.duechting.com.
