A joint evening event was held by the branch and the Institute of Mining (NEIMME) in Newcastle on December 18th at the NEIMME, where, Britt Gevaert presented “Humidur Char: Facing Fire in One Coat.”
This was the first event of the reformed Northeast Branch and Lee Wilson’s (previous Chair) contribution to restarting the branch was acknowledged, with his widow also present in the audience. There were nearly 40 attendees in the room and another 30 on-line attendees for the presentation, that had a high level of expectation due to the ground-breaking properties of the product being discussed.
Britt presented Humidur® Char, the one coat Passive Fire Protection (PFP) system. This PFP coating is unique because it has been independently approved and certified for application on minimal prepared steel (St 2), and does not require a primer, nor a reinforcing mesh, even in the most severe fire scenarios. This product has been extensively tested to (High Heat Flux) Jet Fires, Pool Fires and Gas Explosion Resistance, and received Type Approval by the class society DNV. It is currently being utilized by Woodside on both onshore and offshore assets and has been specified for future global projects for various other clients.
At the end of this very informative presentation questions were raised by the audience including local industry experts, and answered by Britt. Following the presentation drinks and snacks were enjoyed by the attendees whilst networking and further discussing the evening’s presentation.
A recording of the presentation can be watched at, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_srzMOfdN0&feature=youtu.be
Future branch events include a presentation and demonstration from PlasmaBlast covering plasma surface cleaning, in March. This will be followed on 22 and 23rd June 2023 by the “Integrity Engineering for a Sustainable Future” conference. This 2-day event will feature a series of technical presentations from leading figures and companies in the renewables sector, followed on the second day by tours of Ore Catapult (offshore renewable energy test and research centre) and Bates Colliery (a Coal Board managed ex-coalmine with 5MW geothermal energy potential). Both events will be held in Newcastle upon Tyne.
