Erosive wear behaviour of weld hardfacing high chromium cast irons: effect of erodent particles

Five commercial hardfacing high chromium cast iron alloys were deposited by flux cored arc-welding method. The solid particle erosion studies were carried out using air blast type erosion test rig with 125–150 μm cement clinker, 125–150 μm blast furnace sinter, 100–150 μm silica sand and 125–150 μm alumina particles at a velocity of 50 m s⁻¹ and at impingement angles of 15–90°. The observed erosion rates were rationalised in terms of relative hardness of erodent particles and ability of erodent particle to cause gross fracture of the carbides. The dependence of erosion rate on impingement angle was found to be quite weak for hardfacing high chromium cast iron alloys. However, significant differences were observed in the ranking of the alloys when eroded with different erodent particles. The presence of large volume fraction of carbides proved to be beneficial to the erosion resistance when the erodent particle were softer than the carbides. With silica sand particles at normal impact and with alumina particles large volume fraction of carbides proved detrimental to the erosion resistance. The operating erosion mechanisms involved small-scale chipping, edge effect, indentation and fracture and fatigue.     

Solid particle erosion of CFRP composite with different laminate orientations

The solid particle erosion behavior of epoxy base unidirectional and multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites was investigated. The erosion rates of these composites were evaluated at various impingement angles (15–90°) with a particle velocity of 70 m/s. Irregular SiC particles with an average diameter of 80 μm was used. The dependence of impingement angle on the erosive wear resembled the conventional ductile behavior with maximum erosion rate at 15–30° impingement angle. The erosion rate of unidirectional composites at acute impingement angle was higher for [90] than for [45] and [0] while the difference disappeared at normal impingement angle (90°). On the other hand, the erosion rates of multidirectional laminated composites ([0/90], [45/−45], [90/30/−30] and [0/60/−60]) were not much influenced by the fiber orientation except for 15° impingement angle.     

Influence of end-conditions during tube hydroforming of aluminum extrusions

Tube hydroforming experiments were conducted to develop the forming limit diagram of AA6082-T4 by utilizing three types of end-conditions: (i) “free-end”, (ii) “pinched-end” or “fixed-end” and (iii) “forced-end”. It was found that “free-end” hydroforming gives the lowest forming limits followed by “pinched-end” and “forced-end” hydroforming. It was noticed that the tube failure occurs within 5° to the extrusion weld in the “free-end” experiments, within 7° in the “pinched-end” condition and extended up to 10° in the “forced-end” hydroforming experiments. Finite element simulations were carried out to capture the effects of the weld geometry, weld mechanical properties and the end-conditions of the extruded tube on the maximum induced stress and location of the maximum von Mises stress. It was found that the anisotropy of the weld material and the end-condition used during hydroforming experiments have the largest influence on the failure location with respect to the weld center.     

Sand–water slurry erosion of API 5L X65 pipe steel as quenched from intercritical temperature

The objective of this study was to analyse the erosion of API 5L X65 pipe steel whose microstructure consisted of ferrite and martensite obtained by quenching from intercritical temperature (770°C). Jet impingement tests with sand–water slurry were used. The changes in mechanical properties, caused by heat treatment carried out, did not induce changes in either the mechanism or erosion resistance. The erosion rate increased with angle of attack until 30° and later decreased until 90°. The microtexture of the eroded surfaces, at angles of attack of 30° and 90°, were similar for both conditions and were composed of craters and platelets at several stages of evolution. The erosion mechanism was by extrusion with the forming and forging of platelets.     

Solid particle erosion of unidirectional fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites

In the present study, the solid particle erosion behaviour of neat PEEK matrix and unidirectional glass fibre (GF) and carbon fibre (CF) reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) composites has been studied. The erosion experiments have been carried out by using silica sand particles (200 ± 50 μm) as an erodent. Steady state erosion rates of these composites have been evaluated at different impact angles and impact velocities. The neat PEEK exhibited peak erosion rate at 30° impingement angle whereas the composites exhibited a semi-ductile behaviour with peak erosion rate at 60° impact angle. The erosion rate of the glass fibre reinforced composites was higher than that of the carbon fibre reinforced composites. The results show that the fibre orientation has a significant influence on erosion rate only at lower impact angles. The erosion rate of the composites was higher when the particles impact perpendicular to the fibre direction than parallel to the fibres. The morphology of eroded surfaces was observed under scanning electron microscope and damage mechanisms were discussed.     

Erosion—corrosion characteristics of a 2.25 Cr-1 Mo steel exposed at low particle velocities

The erosion-corrosion characteristics of a 2.25 Cr-1 Mo steel at low particle velocities and elevated temperatures were determined using a nozzle type laboratory erosion tester. The tests were performed with 180–360 μm angular alumina particles at 60° angle of impingement at low particle velocities of 2.6–8.2 m/s and in the temperature interval 20–600°C. The steel was tested both in the as-received condition as well as in two preoxidized conditions. The erosion-corrosion rate of the steel, both in the as-received and in the preoxidized conditions, was found to increase with increasing particle velocity. In contrast, the wastage rates were relatively independent of temperature in the temperature range investigated, the only exception being specimens exposed to the lowest particle velocity (2.6 m/s) at the very highest temperature, i.e. 600°C, which displayed a drastic increase in wastage. Specimens preoxidized at 700°C exhibited a somewhat higher erosion rate compared with non-preoxidized specimens and specimens preoxidized at 500°C. Microscopy revealed four different major wastage mechanisms, i.e. (i) plastic deformation, cracking and micro chipping of surface material of a size corresponding to the area impinged by eroding particles, (ii) chipping of somewhat larger oxide fragments (up to 10–15 μm in diameter), (iii) chipping or spalling of relatively large oxide fragments (up to 30–50 μm in diameter), and (iv) spalling along the steel-oxide interface or within an oxide layer due to cohesive failure, of larger (up to 500 μm in diameter) oxide layer fragments. In the present study extensive spalling was only observed for non-preoxidized specimens exposed to the lowest particle velocity (2.6 m/s) and the two highest specimen temperatures (550°C and 600°C).     

A full factorial investigation of the erosion durability of automotive clearcoats

A full factorial experimental investigation has been carried out into factors affecting the resistance of a commercial acrylic/melamine automotive clearcoat to erosion by silica sand particles. The factor variables and their ranges were: particle size 125–425 μm; temperature 30°C–65°C; impact angle 30°–90°; particle velocity 35 m s⁻¹–55 m s⁻¹; and the baking process applied to the coating. An empirical linear regression model for the erosion response of the coating with R²_adj=97.5% was generated from the data. The regression coefficients of this model quantify the relative strengths of the effects of each of the factors. Several interactions between the factor variables were identified. In particular, the glass transition of the coating, which occurs at 40°C, has a significant effect on its response to erosion. The study has allowed the combinations of conditions that would be of most concern for automotive paint users to be identified.     

Closed-form solution for wedge cutting force through thin metal sheets

A simple kinematic model is developed which describes the main features of the process of the cutting of a plate by a rigid wedge. It is assumed in this model that the plate material curls up into two inclined cylinders as the wedge advances into the plate. This results in membrane stretching up to fracture of the material near the wedge tip, while the “flaps” in the wake of the cut undergo cylindrical bending. Self-consistent, single-term formulas for the indentation force and the energy absorption are arrived at by relating the “far-field” and “near-tip” deformation events through a single geometric parameter, the instantaneous rolling radius. Further analysis of this solution reveals a weak dependence on the wedge angle and a strong dependence on friction coefficient. The final equation for the approximate cutting force over a range of wedge semiangles 10° ≤ θ ≤ 30° and friction coefficients 0.1 ≤ μ ≤ 0.4 is: F = 3.28σ₀(δ_t)^0.2l^0.4t^1.6μ^0.4, which is identical in form and characteristics to the empirical results recently reported by Lu and Calladine [Int. J. Mech. Sci.32, 295–313 (1990)].This analysis is believed to resolve a controversy recently developed in the literature over the interpretation of plate cutting experiments.     

Erosive wear by silica sand on AISI H13 and 4140 steels

The erosive wear behaviour of AISI H13 tool steel and AISI 4140 steel has been investigated in this work using a sand blast-type rig. Samples of six different hardness levels (from annealed to 595 HV) were produced and subsequently tested using silica sand as the erodent material at impact angles ranging from 10° to 90°, air drag pressures of 0.689 and 1.38 bar (10 and 20 psi respectively), impact speeds ranging from 70 to 107 m s⁻¹ and various particle sizes. Results of erosion versus impact angle at different hardness levels showed three distinctive wear regions: (i) for impact angles of 10° and 20°, the amount of wear was higher at lower hardness values; (ii) for impact angles of 30° and 40° no significant changes were found in the amount of wear despite the increase in hardness; (iii) for impact angles of 60°, 75° and 90° the amount of wear was higher for higher hardness levels in the eroded material. Single curves showed typical ductile behaviour of these alloys, a transition towards brittle behaviour for the hardest specimens was also observed due to the formation of adiabatic shear bands. SEM analysis was conducted to identify the erosion mechanisms for each type of behaviour.     

Solid particle erosion of diamond coatings under non-normal impact angles

This paper describes an erosion study, which examines the effect of impact angle on the erosion behaviour of diamond coatings deposited on tungsten substrates by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). The coatings were 37–60 μm in thickness and were erosion tested using angular silica sand with a mean diameter of 194 μm at a particle velocity of 268 m s⁻¹. The impact angles used were 30, 45, 60 and 90°. The results show that the damage features, termed “pin-holes” are generated at all angles, though the number of impacts required for pin-hole initiation is significantly increased at lower angles. This work provides useful information in attempting to explain the mechanism by which damage is generated during the high velocity sand erosion of CVD diamond.     

Micro-drilling of monocrystalline silicon using a cutting tool

The micro-drilling of monocrystalline silicon using a cutting tool was tested with the aim of fabricating three-dimensional and high aspect ratio micro-shapes. Micro-tools with a D-shaped cross-section and cutting edge radius of 0.5 μm were fabricated by wire electrodischarge grinding (WEDG). The results showed that, with a depth of cut of 0.1 μm, ductile-regime cutting was realized, and that a tool clearance angle larger than 0° was necessary to prevent fractures at the hole entrance. The smallest machinable hole was of 6.7 μm diameter, which is the smallest not just in the present study, but of all holes drilled using a cutting tool so far. Furthermore, an aspect ratio of more than four was obtained in the drilling of a 22 μm diameter and 90 μm deep hole.     

Erosion of copper single crystals under conditions of 90° impact

High purity copper single crystals were eroded parallel to [111] at 90° to the surface with glass spheres 70 μm in diameter travelling at a velocity of 122 m s^?1. Detailed scanning electron microscopy of eroded surfaces together with transmission electron microscopy of both erosion debris and near-surface layers of the target was performed. It was observed that a hilland-valley surface topology developed ; this has not been reported previously and gave rise to a local low angle cutting component of erosion at 90°. Direct evidence was obtained of a transient heating effect from the particle impact as well as the formation of subsurface voids in heavily deformed regions. In addition it was shown that subsurface cracking produced a flaking mechanism of material loss.     

Stability of stationary and rotating discs under edge load

The dominant dynamic instability mechanism in circular cutters, grinding wheels and the like is a moving load resonance excited by a constant transverse load at the “critical rotation speed.” The critical speed theory is extended here to include the effects of concentrated in-plane edge loads similar to loading occurring in engineering processes. The theoretical analysis shows the critical speed is only sensitive to edge load when the resonance mode and the mode of static edge load buckling are identical. This always occurs with large edge load, but it is not the case with the smaller edge loads typical of engineering processes. These analyses are confirmed through prediction and measurement of static buckling loads for centrally clamped discs with in-plane, concentrated loads inclined between 0° and 80° to the edge normal.     

Design of a six-axis micro-scale nanopositioner—μHexFlex

This paper presents the design of a small-scale nanopositioner, the μHexFlex, which is comprised of a six-axis compliant mechanism and three pairs of two-axis thermo-mechanical micro-actuators. In this paper, we cover the modeling, design and fabrication of the μHexFlex. Specific attention is given to: (1) the use of constraint-based design in generating the compliant mechanism design, (2) the modeling of the actuators, and (3) the system model which links the actuator input and mechanism response. The measured, quasi-static performance of a 3 mm diameter prototype shows a maximum range of 8.4 μm × 12.8 μm × 8.8 μm and 19.2 mrad × 17.5 mrad × 33.2 mrad (1.1° × 1.0° × 1.9°). Experimental results indicate that a constant mechanical/electrical material property system model may be used to predict the position and orientation over a range of 3.0 μm × 4.4 μm × 3.0 μm and 6.3 mrad × 6.3 mrad × 8.7 mrad (0.36° × 0.36° × 0.5°). The dynamic characteristics of the device were investigated experimentally. Experimental results show a lowest natural frequency of 4 kHz. The resolution characteristics of the device have been measured at 1 Å/mV. The device was created using deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). Bulk fabrication costs are estimated at less than $ 2 per device.     

A comparative study of high-temperature erosion wear of plasma-sprayed NiCrBSiFe and WC–NiCrBSiFe coatings under simulated coal-fired boiler conditions

A comparative study was carried out of the behaviour of plasma sprayed NiCrBSiFe and WC–NiCrBSiFe alloys subjected to conditions which simulate a post-combustion gas atmosphere from a coal-fired boiler combustor. The study first evaluates the effects of thermal exposure at high temperatures on the microstructure of the coatings and on the adherence between substrate (austenitic stainless steel) and coatings. The oxidation rates of these coatings in atmospheres with 3–3.5% of free oxygen at 773 and 1073 K were then evaluated. The effect of WC on the low-velocity corrosion–erosion behaviour produced by the impact of fly ashes in the gas stream at high temperatures (773 and 1073 K) was assessed under impact angles of 30° and 90°. Finally, the eroded surfaces were analysed using scanning electron microscopy in order to characterize the ash embedment phenomena and the operating erosive micromechanisms.     

Erosion of aluminium-based claddings on steel by sand in water

This paper describes the slurry erosion of a range of HVOF deposited aluminium-based claddings on steel by sand in water. Coatings, approximately 300 μm thick, of commercially pure aluminium, eutectic aluminium/silicon alloy (12%) and of a novel composite incorporating alumina in this alloy have been tested, both as sprayed and as ground to remove surface roughness as far as possible. Angular silica sand of mean diameter 235 μm was used at a concentration of 2.5% in tapwater at impingement angles of 90° and 30° and a jet velocity of 27 m/s. Mass loss data and surface structure, as shown by electron microscopy and profilometry, are related to the test conditions, initial surface topography, material hardness and microstructure, especially porosity. They are discussed in terms of the mechanisms of erosion that occur in the different materials, with reference to microcutting and plastic deformation of the surface and to the effects of the alumina inclusions. The consequences of poor flow-out, leading to significant residual porosity of the composite cladding are discussed.     

Errors in creep-cyclic plasticity testing: their quantification and correction for obtaining accurate constitutive equations

Inter-laboratory comparative cyclic plasticity testing has shown that data collected on the same material varies widely between laboratories across the world. The research reported here examines two testpiece designs using a combined creep-cyclic plasticity damage interaction theory, and compares theoretical results with plain bar data. The testpieces have been selected to examine two geometrical features: firstly, the extensometer ridges, and secondly, the loading shank-gauge section blend radii. For copper at 500°C, undergoing creep-cyclic plasticity damage interaction, and at 20°C, undergoing cyclic plasticity damage only, the dominant geometrical feature is shown to be the blend radii. Techniques are reported which enable errors in strain range to be identified and quantified using simple relations. It is shown how these relations can be used to correct data obtained from the different testpiece geometries to achieve unified data from homogenous uni-axial stress conditions. It is proposed that inter-laboratory comparative studies should make use of such techniques to help unify material data, and so avoid variations often wrongly attributed to “material scatter”.     

Influence of temperature on erosion by a cavitating liquid jet

The influence of water temperature on cavitation erosion has previously been studied using a vibratory apparatus, but no researches have been conducted at a constant cavitation number in flow condition. This study deals with the influence of the water temperature on cavitation erosion using a cavitating jet apparatus. The optimum stand-off distance at 25 °C was 11, 15, 21 and 25 mm at cavitation number of σ = 0.03, 0.025, 0.02 and 0.015, respectively, and was almost the same as that of a guideline in the ASTM G134 standard. The optimum stand-off distance at 75 °C is similar to that at 25 °C. The erosion rate increases with the liquid temperature and reaches a peak, followed by a decrease. The relative temperature was defined as 0 °C for freezing temperature and 100 °C for boiling temperature of pressurized water. The peak appears at the approximate average of freezing and boiling relative temperatures. The erosion rate increases by 1%/ °C between 5 and 45 °C of relative temperatures, and decreases by 2%/ °C between 45 and 80 °C.     

Tribology in coal-fired power plants

Material wear and degradation is of great importance to the economy of South Africa especially within the mining, agriculture, manufacturing and power generation fields. It has been found that unexpected and high rates of fly-ash erosion occur at certain sections of power plants, this is particularly evident at the Majuba power station. The loss of small amounts of material due to erosion can be enough to cause serious damage and significantly reduce the working lifetime of, for, e.g. hopper liners.This study investigated the long-term solid particle erosion of a range of oxide and nitride-fired SiC-based ceramics and alumina with the aim of reducing erosive wear damage in power plants. This entailed carrying out experimental tests on an in-house built erosion testing machine that simulate the problems encountered in the industry. The target materials were eroded with 125–180 μm silica sand at shallow and high impact angles. The surface wear characteristics were studied using both light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The results obtained indicate that the erosion rates of the materials remain fairly constant from the onset. It was found that prolonged exposure to erosion results in the progressive removal of the matrix and subsequent loss of unsupported SiC particulates. The fact that the particles were relatively small did not have a significant effect on the erosion rate. This would explain the observed constant rates of erosion for longer periods. These behaviours can be further explained in terms of the composition and mechanical properties of the erodents and target ceramics.