Armco's Nitronic 50 Ideal For Downhole Use —Literature Available

Few applications have more demanding and at the same time sensitive material requirements than those encountered in downhole petroleum exploration. However, many manufacturers are finding Armco Nitronic 50 stainless steel to offer the type of properties needed for dependable downhole service.

One such application involves instrumentation that is periodically lowered down the well hole to measure temperature, depth, direction, and inclination during drilling. To protect the instruments package and permit lowering and raising, a housing must be provided. This housing must resist corrosive attack common to oil well environments, resist high compressive stresses, and have very low magnetic permeability to avoid interference with the magnetometer in the instrument package.

Type 316 stainless steel, considered because of its good corrosive resistance, doesn't meet all the other requirements, so many operators were forced to use more expensive c o p p e r - n i c k e l alloys.

Now many are using Nitronic 50 stainless steel because of its excellent performance at significant cost savings compared to the copper- nickel alloys. In addition to the cost advantages of Nitronic 50, the material is also nonmagnetic so there's no interference with the instrumentation.

Nitronic 50 stainless steel is said to provide a combination of corrosion resistance and strength not found in any other commer- cial material available in its price range. This austenitic stainless steel has corrosion r e s i s t a n ce greater than that provided by Types 316 and 316L, plus approximately twice the yield strength at room temperature. It also has good mechanical properties at both elevated and sub-zero temperatures.

For further information and free literature on Nitronic 50, Write 61 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 35, May 1981

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.