Page 13 - Industrial Technology EXTRA 21st June 2021

demanding sectors like oil and gas, mining, solution and, as always, we strived to make working
hydropower and more. together as quick and easy as possible,” states
“The FLNG vessel plays a crucial role in the Claessens.
high-profile offshore venture our customer was
supporting,” says Claessens. “Any issue with the Superior corrosion resistance
ship’s stability could disrupt the entire project, Once the best solution was agreed, working with
creating not only safety concerns, but a Eaton also brought major technical advantages. For
considerable loss of time and money for all involved. instance, Eatonite laser cladding, Eaton’s
It was up to us to make sure that didn’t happen.” proprietary cylinder rod coating, offers superior
The stakes were high, but the customer’s corrosion resistance in saltwater operations
requirements also created some unique technical following 10 years of proven use in the field with no
challenges. Eaton needed to supply a bespoke reported failures.
solution for the unusual mooring system “Eatonite is a very dense coating that allows no
compensating for the motion of waves, where the access to the base material, which is the usual
XL cylinders were in an atypical horizontal cause of corrosion and coating failures,” says
orientation. Additionally, Eaton’s solution needed to Alpesh Shah, Global Product Manager - Cylinders.
withstand brutal conditions. “That’s a critical issue to avoid because corrosion
Explains Claessens: “The challenge wasn’t only doesn’t just impair cylinder performance; hydraulic
continuous exposure to saltwater and sea spray, but
to sand blowing over from the Sahara desert in high
winds. With project operations expected to run for
up to three decades, Eaton’s solution not only had
to perform, it had to be incredibly resilient.”

Decades-long experience
To meet these challenges, Eaton’s decades-long
application experience, manufacturing expertise and
commitment to the highest quality solutions were
invaluable. “We always aim to build long-term
customer relationships,” says Kamil Kubica,
Product Sales Manager for the XL cylinder range.
“That’s why we were ready to invest so much time,
effort and joint-thinking into this project.”
Design and manufacturing work took place at
Eaton’s Eindhoven facility in the Netherlands, which
boasts a team of dedicated project and application
engineers, skilled assembly technicians and
machining operators, as well as a state-of-the-art
test facility.
“Our engineers collaborated closely with the
customer for many weeks to develop a bespoke

June 2021 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA • p13