Activities & Expertise

Ocas > Activities > Durability & lifetime prediction

Durability & lifetime prediction

Durability & lifetime prediction are not just buzzwords, it is at the heart of everything we do. Being confronted with the increasing demand in and cost of energy, it is essential that material products become more cost-efficient and durable, and that asset owners can assess whether their infrastructure is fit-for-purpose at any time.

When steel products are used in industrial assets, they can be prone to unexpected environmental circumstances, loading conditions or even design errors. OCAS is involved in analysing failures, proposing adequate repair methods and remedy actions to prevent failures from occurring again. We have assembled a multi-disciplinary task force to address the rising demand for asset integrity management services. Combining our experience in weld integrity and computational fracture mechanics allowed us to take a more informed decision on lifetime extension of ageing assets. 

In recent years, OCAS has developed an impressive set of unique extreme test condition set-ups that allow us not only to test critical designs close to real load conditions, but most importantly, to validate developed lifetime prediction models and tools for their reliability in real applications under  real conditions.

In the domain of wear and abrasion, OCAS has continued to develop and improve relevant test methodologies and link them to real wear behaviour for certain applications. These tests allow us to rank a whole series of new metallurgies and identify key domains for optimised use. In the same spirit, we continue to develop unique semi-component – and even large-scale – test set-ups to investigate fatigue performance. These initiatives are enabling us to refine our fundamental metallurgical know-how regarding fatigue and to apply it to improving offshore structures and components.

Concerning metallic coatings, we continue to answer customer requests and develop demonstrators to highlight the coating’s outstanding performance in a variety of domains – such as solar farms, buried soil applications, farms, safety barriers, lighting poles, and many more – which require accurate and relevant accelerated corrosion test methods. On top of that, we are exploring exciting new candidates for the next-generation of metallic coatings with even stronger protection, better appearance and/or reduced cost.

With Endures as a sister company, we have fortified our experience in the field of maritime corrosion, a domain that’s growing in importance, because improving maritime corrosion protection is an absolute must for many energy generation systems.

Related expertise to this activity

With our modelling and simulation tools, OCAS offers solutions for your design and engineering challenges in order to achieve maximum efficiency and to reduce costs. Depending on the complexity of your request, we choose the most appropriate approach in close collaboration with you. This can range from empirical and analytic tools to more advanced finite element modelling (FEM) tools. Thanks to a wide choice of available software tools our multidisciplinary team selects the best combinations to improve your product or process development. The outcome of simulations can be experimentally tested at our facilities and compared with real-life tests for validation purposes.

Our skilled staff can rely on state-of-the-art equipment for materials testing, joining & assembly. The OCAS labs are equipped with standard as well as customised test set-ups for large component testing.

OCAS develops new functional and aesthetic surfaces for any metal substrate to meet your specific requirements. Our skilled staff can rely on state-of-the-art equipment to prepare, apply and characterise different coatings: organic, inorganic, metallic, hybrid and/or enamel coatings. Our aim is to optimise your surface functionality, lower your production cost and make your product more environment-friendly.

The complete coating and enamelling process can be simulated in our laboratory, using a wide range of technologies. The first step is the pre-treatment of substrates including for example degreasing, pickling, phosphating and passivation. Coatings are then applied by electrodeposition, spraying (wet or powder paints or enamels), dipping, spinning or using a roll coater. A more advanced technique is Chemical Vapour Deposition, allowing the deposition of very thin layers (20-50 nm) on a variety of substrates. Our curing methods include conventional, infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) curing.

We are able to perform the full characterisation and testing of different technological aspects of surfaces from macro to micro and even to nanoscale: flexibility, adhesion, hardness, wear and staining resistance, colour, gloss, appearance, etc. Both outdoor exposure racks as well as accelerated corrosion cabinets are available to check the corrosion behaviour and durability of materials and coatings, including the evaluation of buried structures in different soil types.

In addition to these standardised tests, we are also equipped to perform electrochemical measurements using impedance spectroscopy, Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique (SVET) and Scanning Kelvin Probe (SKP). Read more about how our scanning flow micro-cell boosts our study of fundamental corrosion reactions.

OCAS’s expertise in alloy and coating design, metal surface engineering, non-standard testing and modelling supplements Endures’s current knowledge on corrosion, electrochemistry, MIC (microbiologically influenced corrosion), antifouling and protective coatings. The Endures team of experts helps its customers to reduce their corrosion costs by selecting appropriate materials and protecting structures in marine and corrosive environments. Endures conducts applied research on vessels, offshore installations and land-based structures and buildings to determine the type of corrosion damage, including MIC (microbiologically influenced corrosion), and to prevent future damage. Based in the harbour of Den Helder, Endures has a C3/C4 seaside testing location to expose samples to maritime exposure conditions both aerial and immersed, as well in the tidal or splash zone. Endures also has a raft for efficacy tests of antifouling paints and can carry out lab experiments in running natural seawater.

Together with Flanders Materials Centre (FLAMAC), a division of SIM, we make an accelerated development of new coatings possible, thanks to the high-throughput experimentation technology. Specific software and equipment allows fast and precise preparation of the formulations. The High Throughput Technology is based on an automated formulation, application and curing of coatings. This quick screening not only allows for cost reduction. It also reduces the research time to obtain the perfect coating for your application, thus reducing your time-to-market. Explore Flamac's high-throughput experimentation technology service.

Long term energy requirements, combined with the changing climate highlight the importance of developing non-fossil fuels. Although the "hydrogen economy" is not yet a fact, significant efforts are being made to design steel grades that  can be used to safely generate, store and transport hydrogen. However, to develop new materials with the necessary resistance to hydrogen, it's crucial to understand the mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement and the interactions with microstructure.

OCAS has a dedicated hydrogen lab to study the fundamental mechanisms related to hydrogen embrittlement, and test set-ups for both hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and sulphide stress corrosion cracking (SSCC), as well as disk rupture test equipment using gaseous hydrogen at high pressures. A lot of competence has been developed over these past few years in terms of methodology, knowledge building, modelling and understanding the hydrogen embrittlement phenomenon.

Being involved in various projects on the effects of hydrogen on steel - from internal development projects and technical services to funded knowledge building projects with various European research institutes - OCAS took the initiative to organise the very first conference dedicated to steel and hydrogen in Europe. After the successful SteelyHydrogen2011 Conference, the scope was broadened and the attendance at the second and third SteelyHydrogen2014 and SteelyHydrogen2018 conferences, again organised by OCAS, confirmed that hydrogen is considered a crucial topic for developments in the steel and other alloys in the next decade. OCAS is pleased to announce that we are currently preparing the 4th edition of SteelyHydrogen2022 .

Joining and assembly at OCAS cover a large range of material types, thicknesses and industrial applications. We optimise your component and manufacturing route for assembly through welding, joining or adhesive bonding. Our facilities include all major arc welding processes - MIG/MAG, PAW, 5-wire SAW, TIG, MMA.  In addition, we are equipped for brazing, braze welding and adhesive bonding.  

You can benefit from our vast materials expertise, covering the full range of steel grades, including coated steels, as well as other materials, in a large thickness range from less than 1 mm to more than 200 mm. 

OCAS performs welding procedure development and qualification to relevant standards and is furthermore fully equipped to evaluate the welded joint in terms of mechanical properties. Our experienced welding team can advise you on further optimisation of your welding process, including the introduction of novel techniques. Allied technologies available include heat treatment and non-destructive evaluation of welded joints. OCAS proposes a method for early detection of weldability issues based on metallurgical investigation of the pipe material behaviour, simulations and stress corrosion cracking tests. Thus avoiding problems during the welding procedure qualification.

OCAS created a dedicated task force to support key accounts in ensuring the reliability of their safety-critical industrial assets. This team offers a versatile skill set in welding, corrosion, fatigue and fracture. We are confident we can add value by supporting our customers in asset integrity management and de-risking of capital-intensive projects.

To minimise your health and safety risks in the welding shop, we offer technical support in the field of air quality and welding fumes. Our extensive spectrum of sampling - from gas to dust - and analytical techniques available - from composition to particle morphology - completes our offer for fume analysis.

Our dedicated adhesive bonding lab is fully equipped to apply and test strength and durability of structural bonds. 

Read more on our in-house welding capabilities.

Our welding team has highly skilled and experienced operators. All our welding project leaders are EWE/IWE qualified. Since 2012, one of our senior research engineers welding chaired sub-commission C-XI-E 'transmission pipelines" of the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and was furthermore elected representative on the technical management board of IIW.  Since 2008, one of our senior project leaders of the surfaces department chairs the sub-commission Health & Safety for Welding of the Belgian standardisation body.