UT Spool Solves Wear Challenge for Oil Sands’ Customer
on July 14, 2026
Innovative Wear Sensor and Chrome White Solution for the Oil Sands
The National Research Council of Canada approached Penticton Foundry to partner with them in the development of a new wear sensor, which would address the 2 key problems of the previous technology - an inability to be installed at the pipe’s leading edge, and the fact that customers had to pay an additional fee for wear monitoring data.
In this case study, we look at how Penticton Foundry used this innovative wear technology to help an Oil Sands’ customer obtain real-time wear data, while simultaneously increasing wear performance through the use of chrome white iron.
Read: To learn more about our innovative wear sensor technology developed in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada click here.
Challenge
An Oil Sands’ customer approached Penticton Foundry to resolve a spool wear issue resulting from multiple nozzles feeding hot process water into the spool. The previous spool had been made with high temperature carbon steel.
The customer had 2 goals:
- Increase wear performance in high wear areas
- Monitor wear in real time, receiving data on a frequent and automatic basis
The customer needed the spool within 14 weeks, creating significant design and delivery challenges.
Read: To read about how a high chrome white iron elbow saved an oil and gas company millions, check out this case study.
Actions
Penticton Foundry responded by designing a chrome white iron lined spool that was 2 inches thick for increased wear resistance. The spool incorporated 28 different UT sensor locations. This allowed, for the first time, a full 360° coverage. Ten point sensors were also placed in critical areas, particularly around the tight nozzle entrance points.
A vendor installed a solar powered battery onto the UT box which transmitted the data. This allowed the Oil Sands’ customer to receive automatically generated reports as requested.
Cost savings were achieved via the use of existing piping pattern tooling. A pattern was modified in-house, which saved money and sped up delivery as no new pattern was required.
Results
- We successfully delivered the chrome white iron lined spool 2 weeks ahead of schedule
- The client installed the spool in January 2026, and is highly satisfied with the weekly, automatically generated wear monitoring data
- Significant cost savings were realized both in the creation of the spool and in the reduction of production downtime (automatic wear monitoring meant the spool did not have to be opened)
- Projected cost savings are estimated at $500,000 over the next 3 to 5 years versus a typical carbon steel/CCO spool
Read: To learn more about chrome white iron check out our chrome white iron webpage.
