Synthesis and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Coatings on Stainless Steel for Hydraulic Energy Systems

The main intended research activity of this international collaboration is to fabricate protective composite layered coatings for hydraulic turbine systems. The use of self-lubricating polymer bearings has become popular in order to reduce maintenance costs caused by the manual application of oil or grease lubrication. However, such materials are not suitable for larger loads, and therefore need to be replaced frequently. The addition of a hard metallic bottom layer under the polymeric material would drastically improve the load capacity of the coating, making this new technology suitable for repairing many parts within the turbine system. In hopes of prolonging the coating’s lifespan in aqueous environments, the metallic layer has been chosen to be composed of mainly a very corrosion resistant material, stainless steel. By combining the inexpensive polymeric coating methods created at UCL and thermal spray metallic coating technologies, the ideal corrosion and erosion resistant coatings can be synthesized, characterized, and implemented in industrial applications.

Faculty Supervisor:

Janine Mauzeroll

Student:

Partner:

University College London

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: