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Hydrogen – whether applied in shipping, steel production, refineries or power-to-x application – it has become the energy source of the future, yet already used in many sectors. Due to its special properties, the hydrogen gas poses several technical challenges for the respective components with which it comes into contact, so that the use of corrosion-resistant stainless steel is essential. This in turn is susceptible to wear and galling and this is exactly where the technology of the Danish pioneer for surface hardening of stainless steel and titanium comes into play.

Hydrogen - the element that comes first in the periodic table and is therefore the smallest and lightest atom among all elements - has been traded for some time as the greatest hope for future energy supply. With a mass fraction of about 70%, hydrogen is the most common chemical element in the universe. On Earth, however, its mass fraction is only 0.87% and is largely bound in water.

Starting with production, over to transport ending with the actual usage, wherever hydrogen is involved, stainless steel components are also used, some of which are subject to extreme wear depending on the application and naturally subject to galling. In the past, this problem was countered with traditional wear protection methods and the respective components were protected with a coating (e.g. hard chrome plating, DLC or chrome carbide) or classic plasma nitriding or salt bath diffusion layers. However, these processes are generally known to affect the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel parts negatively.

The solution to this dilemma - a surface hardening that protects against wear and galling while at the same time maintains or even improves the corrosion resistance of the materials - was developed by the founders of the Danish company Expanite and is increasingly being used in the hydrogen sector. For example, components of high pressure and control valves or clutch systems used in the hydrogen infrastructure up to components for fuel cells are hardened.

2022 05 24 101944Sustainably prevent hydrogen embrittlement
"Our customers often ask whether the Expanite technology increases the risk of hydrogen embrittlement, which is not the case," explains Dr. Holger Selg, application expert and Expanite Sales Director DACH, who going further into detail: "The cause of the hydrogen embrittlement can be traced back to the diffusion of the hydrogen into the material, and in theory the Expanite layer acts as a diffusion brake to a certain extent. Charged with nitrogen and carbon, the Expanite surface is harder for the hydrogen to penetrate than an untreated surface."

he gas-based diffusion process from Expanite is significantly more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than comparable wear protection processes, and thanks to the treatment in a vacuum, no time-consuming cleaning of the parts, e.g. with aggressive chemicals, is necessary after hardening

he Expanite technology, specially developed for corrosion-resistant materials, offers a solution for austenitic, martensitic, ferritic and duplex stainless steels as well as for expensive nickel-based alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy. The new special process ExpaniteHard-Ti, which the Expanite team of experts in Denmark has developed to market maturity in recent years, is used for titanium materials.

About Expanite:
Expanite was founded in 2010 by leading experts in material and surface hardening whose research dates back to 2000. The company is headquartered in Hillerød near Copenhagen and has treatment centers in the USA, Germany, Korea and China. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to the customer's own product line within the framework of a license agreement.

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Expanite – The technology of the Danish pioneer for surface hardening of stainless steel and titanium is used more and more frequently when it comes to alternatives to classic fluoroplastic coatings such as Teflon®, Halar® or Xylan®. In addition to technical and commercial advantages, the environmental compatibility and sustainability of the Expanite process are playing an increasingly important role for customers.

After the discovery of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) - also known as Teflon® - in 1938, some time passed before technically usable applications for the highly inert material paved their way. Today, coatings based on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), known by their trade names such as Teflon®, Halar® or Xylan® or more generally referred to by the abbreviations ECTFE, PFA, FEP, ETFE, PVDF etc., are applied in many areas to optimize the sliding and non-stick properties as well as wear and corrosion resistance of components.

2022 02 07 101530

In addition to the well-known disadvantages of coatings, i.e. inhomogeneous layer thicknesses, layer detachment and increased corrosion attack if the coating is damaged, PFAS-based products have another substantial deficit: the highly stable and therefore not completely degradable carbon-fluorine compounds are harmful not only for humans but also to the environment and can cause cancer, among other things.

Accordingly, there has been a trend towards avoiding the use of these materials since the early 2000s, and especially when it comes to improving wear and corrosion resistance, Expanite surface hardening offers a cost-effective and sustainable alternative.

The Expanite technology is based on a gas process in which carbon and nitrogen are diffused in the component surface. The otherwise comparable soft and wear-prone stainless steel material hardens by a factor of up to 10 and while classic diffusion processes impacting corrosion resistance of the material, the Expanite processes generally improve the corrosion properties of the component.

Sustainable against wear and galling
Besides the elimination of carcinogenic substances, Expanite's gas-based diffusion process is significantly more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than comparable wear protection processes, and thanks to the treatment in a vacuum, no time-consuming cleaning of the parts, e.g., with aggressive chemicals, is necessary after hardening.

2022 02 07 101601

"The different cases in which Expanite is used as an alternative to such plastic coatings are widely spread and can be found, for example, in the areas of pumps and valves, food & beverage or general industrial applications," explains Dr. Holger Selg, application expert and Expanite Sales Director DACH, and continues: "First and foremost, we increase the wear and galling resistance of stainless steel components. By hardening the surface, the sliding properties are improved at the same time and, depending on the application, offer an adequate replacement for fluoroplastic coatings.”

The Expanite technology, specially developed for corrosion-resistant materials, offers a solution for austenitic, martensitic, ferritic, and duplex stainless steels as well as for expensive nickel-based alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy. Moreover, ExpaniteHard-Ti, which the Expanite team of experts has developed to market maturity in recent years, is used for titanium grades.

About Expanite:
Expanite was founded in 2010 by leading experts in material and surface hardening whose research dates back to 2000. The company is headquartered in Hillerød near Copenhagen and has treatment centers in the USA, Germany, Korea and China. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to the customer's own product line within the framework of a license agreement.

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The processes for surface hardening of stainless steel from the Danish pioneer Expanite, has in recent years been used more and more frequently when it comes to improving galling and corrosion resistance of stainless steel fittings. The results of a long-term corrosion test show in particular the superiority of the Expanite technology over traditional methods.

2021 11 08 114950A horror for every assembler: galling of stainless steel fittings. A drop of lubricant on the thread helps; but what if, due to for example hygienic requirements, no lubricants may be used, or it is simply forgotten? Stainless steel, with its excellent corrosion resistance, has the disadvantage that when having steel-to-steel contact, it tends to gall. Applying coatings such as DLC or diffusion processes such as Kolsterising®carburizing, nitrocarburizing or plasma nitriding have proven effective in counteracting this effect. However, these processes are not only very costly but also generally have a negative effect on corrosion resistance.

Improved Corrosion Resistance

With its processes specially developed for stainless steel, Expanite has overcome this dilemma, using its patented technology to improve corrosion resistance of components during hardening and at the same time make them resistant to wear and galling. In this context, TCW Anlagenbau located in Germany recently carried out extensive long-term corrosion tests on different stainless steel grades.
While the traditionally hardened components made of 316Ti (1.4571) (pic 2) show a comparatively strong corrosion attack in the salt bath after a short time, the fittings 316Ti (1.4571) and cutting rings 316Ti (1.4571 & 1.4462) treated with the SuperExpanite show no corrosion even after two months in 10% salt bath solution. In the case of 303 (1.4305), which is basically less resistant, a tendency towards improvement in corrosion resistance could be demonstrated: the unhardened nozzle (pic 4) shows a significantly stronger corrosion attack than the component treated with the Expanite process (pic 5).

Sustainable against wear and galling

"Galling of stainless steel components is a well-known problem and we regularly hear from our customers about cases where the galling of a classic screw connection means that entire component have to be replaced at great expense", e explains Dr. Holger Selg, Expanite Sales Director DACH and application expert, and adds: "Ideally, both friction parts are treated with the SuperExpanite, but hardening only one component already provides a significant improvement in terms of galling resistance."

The relatively low hardness of stainless steel also makes corresponding components susceptible to abrasive wear. Here, too, the surface hardening of Expanite provides a remedy and extends the service life compared to unhardened stainless steel components. "Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role," says Dr. Selg "Expanite also scores points over comparable wear protection processes with a significantly more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly gas-based diffusion process that does not require time-consuming cleaning of the parts, e.g. with aggressive chemicals after hardening."

Broad spectrum of materials

2021 11 08 115013The Expanite technology, specially developed for corrosion-resistant materials, offers a solution for austenitic, martensitic, ferritic and duplex stainless steels as well as for nickel-based alloys such as Inconel® and Hastelloy®. Moreover, ExpaniteHard-Ti, which the Expanite team of experts has developed to market maturity in recent years, is used for titanium grades.

Expanite was founded in 2010 by leading experts in material and surface hardening whose research dates back to 2000. The company is headquartered in Hillerød near Copenhagen and has treatment centers in the USA, Germany, Korea and China. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to the customer's own product line within the framework of a license agreement.

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Expanite - the Danish pioneer of surface hardening of stainless steel and titanium replaces or supplements the widespread DLC coatings with its technology. In addition to technical and commercial advantages, the sustainability of the Expanite process is playing an increasing role for customers.

Diamond-like carbon or DLC coatings are today used in many areas where excellent friction properties and good wear resistance are required on component surfaces. The DLC layers applied by complex, time-consuming and costly PVD or PACVD processes are usually only a few micrometres thick. If the part also is required to be corrosion-resistant, making the use of stainless steels mandatory, the DLC system has some weak points. The soft stainless steel as the carrier medium and the correspondingly high hardness gradient to the thin DLC layer promote the eggshell effect this might lead to a defect in the coating, and it will easily start peeling off.

Diffusion hardness layer

Surface hardening of Expanite brings the solution using a gas-based diffusion process to store carbon and nitrogen deep in the component surface. This guarantees a better load-bearing capacity and efficiently counteracts the eggshell effect. If defects occur in the hardness layer while the part is in use, this does not lead to further flaking because, in contrast to the applied DLC layer, the Expanite technology is a diffusion hardness layer that is coherent with the base material.

expanite coatings

Environmentally friendly

A positive side effect: the gas-based diffusion process is significantly more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than comparable wear protection processes and, thanks to the treatment in vacuum, no time-consuming cleaning of the parts, e.g., with aggressive chemicals, is necessary after hardening with the Expanite process.

"We have already replaced the classic DLC coating in various applications, from the typical running and sealing surfaces in bearings, through pump components or knife edges to applications in medical technology," explains Dr. Holger Selg, application expert and Expanite Sales Director DACH, and continues: “In some cases, the two technologies were also combined and a DLC layer was applied in addition to our Expanite hardness layer in order to obtain a very resilient system. "

The Expanite technology, specially developed for corrosion-resistant materials, offers a solution for austenitic, martensitic, ferritic and duplex stainless steels as well as for expensive nickel-based alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy. The new special process ExpaniteHard-Ti, which the Expanite team of experts in Denmark has developed to market maturity in recent years, is used for titanium materials.

About Expanite A/S

Expanite offers state-of-the-art solutions for surface hardening treatment of stainless steels and titanium. With Expanite's processes, it is possible to increase the material’s surface hardness tenfold while at the same time maintaining and even increasing its corrosion resistance. Expanite is a global organization with a combined development and production facility near Copenhagen, Denmark, and hardening capacity in both US, Germany, Korea and China. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be introduced directly into a customer’s own production line as part of a licensing arrangement. Learn more on www.expanite.com 

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Today it’s formally announced that the German industrial supplier KERN-LIEBERS with approx. 7,500 people working at over 50 locations globally will install Expanite’s patented technology for surface hardening of stainless steel. Driven by demand from one of the world’s leading manufacturer of automotive fuel pumps, the installation will be done at KERN-LIEBERS’ facility in Taicang, China, and shall be operational by November 2017. 

Based on a license agreement between the two companies, KERN-LIEBERS will install equipment capable of executing Expanite processes in their Taicang facility. By this move, Expanite will be the first supplier of stainless steel surface hardening who can offer the same unique product in Asia, Europe and the US. Together, KERN-LIEBERS and Expanite will promote this technology to companies in the region.

KERN-LIEBERS is globally recognized as a supplier to the automotive, textile machine and consumer goods industries. The group develops and manufactures precision products of the highest quality made from steel strip and wire around the world, and is furthermore offering heat treatment services from selective locations incl. Taicang, China.

The management team of KERN-LIEBERS Taicang and CEO, Expanite -Mr. Thomas SandholdtThe management team of KERN-LIEBERS Taicang and CEO, Expanite -Mr. Thomas Sandholdt

Expanite is a pioneer within the field of surface hardening of stainless steel and titanium, and has in the recent years grown to become a proven supplier of surface hardening and heat treatment to industries such as food & beverage processing, consumer goods, medical device, pumps, valves and various industrial applications. With Expanite's processes it is possible to increase wear and corrosion resistance of stainless steel beyond what was thought possible in the past.

We are very excited about adding Expanite hardening to our portfolio of solutions to companies with presence in Asia and in the need of improving performance on stainless steel parts. This business opportunity, based on a well-proven yet innovative technology, will ensure that KERN-LIEBERS Taicang can continue its growth path of the last decade” says Richard Zhang, CEO of KERN-LIEBERS in Taicang.

For Expanite, the cooperation with KERN-LIEBERS is a unique opportunity to increase our market presence beyond our treatment centres in Germany, Denmark and the US. We can address on one side European and American companies with manufacturing in Asia but also Asian companies who until now had to ship parts to Europe or North America for hardening or even companies who couldn’t localize manufacturing to Asia because of the limitation in geographical availability, which has existed until now” adds Thomas Abel Sandholdt, CEO of Expanite.

About KERN-LIEBERS – www.kern-liebers.com

KERN-LIEBERS, a medium-sized family-owned company based in southwest Germany, is a global technology leader for the production of highly complex strip and wire parts, and assemblies. The KERN-LIEBERS group of companies develops and manufactures precision products of the highest quality at over 50 locations around the world.

About Expanite – www.expanite.com

Expanite offers the state of the art solutions for surface hardening of stainless steel, titanium and other high-performance metals. With Expanite's processes, it is possible to increase the material’s surface hardness tenfold while at the same time maintaining and even increasing its corrosion resistance. Expanite has a combined development and production facility near Copenhagen, Denmark, and operates service centers in the USA and Germany. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to be introduced into a customer’s own production line as part of a licensing agreement.

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