5. Diamond Is a Pipe’s Best Friend

lubricious	гладкий	to be exposed	піддаватись впливу
coating	покриття	high-alloy	високолегований
wear	зношування	harsh	суворий
to embrace	використовувати	a liner	обшивка
a valve	клапан	grinding	шліфування
girt	гравій	chrome plating	хромування
to entrain	захоплювати	to adhere	приклеюватись
friction	тертя	a tap	удар
fouling	забруднення	to pop off	відколотись
to retain	зберігати	graded	ступінчастий

Diamonds are not just beautiful. They rank as the hardest and most lubricious of all natural materials. Over the past 25 years, several firms have learned to apply diamond and diamond-like coatings to the exterior of wear parts. Now Sub-One Technology Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., has developed a low-cost way to apply diamond-like and silicon carbide (another very hard ceramic) to interior surfaces as well.

Diamond-like coatings protect the interior of downhole pipes from corrosion and wear, while lowering in-pipe friction significantly.

Offshore oil and gas companies have already begun to embrace Sub-One’s coatings for pipes, valves, and other downhole components. Known as InnerArmor, the coating has a hardness that stands up well to abrasive wear and erosion from the grit and sand entrained with oil and gas. The coating’s coefficient of friction is so low (down to 0.01), drillers may be able to narrow downhole pipe diameter without reducing flow. Moreover, the coatings are chemically inert, so they resist fouling and retain their lubricity even when exposed to saltwater and sulfates in gas and oil.

This gives engineers a new option for offshore drilling. In the past, they often chose high-alloy pipes, which handled extreme conditions but were costly and required expensive machining.

Or they could treat the surfaces of lesser alloys to handle the harsh offshore environment. Compared with polymer liners, InnerArmor is harder, more durable, and far more heat-resistant. It is easier to apply to a pipe interior than thermal spray coatings, and produces smoother surfaces without grinding and polishing. It uses environmentally friendlier chemicals than chrome plating does, requires less surface preparation, and produces a harder and more wear resistant coating.

Sub-One sees other potential applications from automotive piston rings, cylinders, and diesel exhaust recirculation systems to piping for high-pressure, high-temperature geothermal power systems.

Creating a practical diamond-like carbon coating has taken decades. The first diamond-like carbon films tended to adhere to themselves better than to the surfaces on which they were applied. When they were applied too thickly, a tap of a hammer would be enough to pop them off the surface. Sub-One solved the problem by creating a graded surface that gradually transitions from silicon to diamond-like coating, so there is no one transition point.

According to Dore Rosenblum, vice president of marketing for Sub-One, the company can produce coatings that range from 3 micrometers on an engine cylinder to 30 to 40 μm on the interior of a downhole pipe. The company’s deposition process applies the coating at about 0.5 μm per minute.

Speech Patterns

Moreover	Крім того, більш того
Furthermore	Крім того, більш того
Therefore	Тому
Besides	Крім того, до того ж
Unfortunately	Нажаль
Hopefully	Сподіваємось, що
Thus	Таким чином
In fact	Фактично, насправді
Although (though)	Однак, хоча
On the one (other) hand	З одного (іншого) боку

He took his bag and left.	Він узяв портфель та пішов.
To get to the station, take bus number 5.	Щоб дістатись до станції, сідайте в автобус номер 5.
It takes me half an hour to get to the University.	В мене займає пів години, щоб дістатись до університету.

Exercise 1. Say whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1. Diamonds are considered the softest natural materials. 2. Diamond-like coatings decrease pipe’s wear resistance. 3. Diamond-coated parts are used by off-shore gas and oil companies. 4. The coefficient of friction of these coatings is very high. 5. The alternative for diamond coatings is chrome plating. 6. The first diamond-like coatings stuck well to the underlying surfaces.

Exercise 2. Give synonyms to the following words from the text:

beautiful, a firm, a way, to begin, to retain, an option, machining, environment, to require, power, to produce.