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Weir Materials and Foundries have over twenty years experience in the development of complex alloys - and we continue to operate extensive, ongoing programmes of Research and Development into products which meet the demands of our customers. Weir Materials are the inventors of the Zeron® range of Duplex alloys, of which Zeron 100 Super Duplex has found the widest use in a number of applications, primarily offshore oil and gas environments, seawater and process, both topside and subsea, and also in desalination, mining, chemical and flue gas desulphurisation service.
The operations of the Technical Services department can be divided into three distinct activities; commercial testing, production metallurgy and customer support.
Commercial Testing
The WM&F Technical department has excellent facilities for analysis, mechanical testing, metallurgical examination and corrosion testing. The laboratory is accredited by UKAS for a wide range of tests. Testing is carried out not only for companies within the Weir Group, but also for external organisations requiring routine testing, positive material identification (PMI), failure analysis or materials advice. The experts within the department are frequently hired by external companies as consultants for problems on specific projects involving a wide range of materials and environments.
Facilities include:
- Mechanical testing (tensile, impact, hardness)
- Metallography
- Autoclave corrosion testing
- Slow strain rate testing
- Scanning electron microscopy (with emission spectroscopy)
- Electrochemical corrosion tests
These facilities also allow for the re-grading of stock materials and subsequent materials certification so as to conform with client specifications, together with the provision of extensive product quality control evaluation.
Production Metallurgy
Our Technical department is continuously involved, in liaison with our licensed manufacturers, in developing improvements in processes to increase the cost effectiveness of Zeron 100. Projects can involve increasing the yield from a specific processing route, improving the quality of the product or the development of new routes of production.
A prime example of such a development is the use of Hot Isostatically Pressed (HIP) manifolds for high pressure oil and gas process systems. Clients to whom we have supplied fabricated HIP components have enjoyed significantly reduced costs. For these items, our scope of supply has included full design and fabrication responsibilities, in addition to materials supply.
Our Research and Development programmes have included the company's technicians working in conjunction with specialist departments of universities and major technical institutes, as well as with many of our materials suppliers and major customers. This team-based approach to Research and Development ensures that we continue to lead the market in the provision of technically advanced products.
Customer Support
The Technical department provides a wide range of services to support our customers. These include assistance with the development and qualification of welding procedures, the determination of toughness or other mechanical properties under arduous conditions, and the evaluation of corrosion resistance in unusual process fluids. A recent example of the latter involved the evaluation of the resistance of Zeron 100 to corrosion in the heaters for high pressure acid leach of nickel laterite ore slurries |
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For further information please contact:
Mr. Colin Toft
Foundry Sales Manager
Weir Oil & Gas
 Email
 44 (0)161 954 4322
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