Severn Glocon has overcome the prohibitive costs of casting Inconel valves with a pioneering new cladding technique, which has won them a contract to supply four highly specialised 24-inch Inconel-clad control valves for the Maniffa field development in Saudi Arabia. Inconel alloys’ oxidation and corrosion-resistant properties make them the material of choice for many severe service applications. They are invaluable in natural gas applications likely to involve sour, corrosive gases such as hydrogen sulfide. While smaller valves can be cast in Inconel, the cost is frequently prohibitive for larger valves, but Severn Glocon has devised a process that uses a specialist welding procedure to clad the base metal with Inconel. The parts exposed to hydrogen sulfide, such as the body, flange and bonnet, are thus protected from damage.
