Cavitation erosion of engineering materials

The work presented in this thesis is concerned with evaluating the erosion resistance or behaviour of various engineering materials to cavitation erosion in a through flow device. A wide range of engineering materials have been utilized, from metal alloys, plastics, ceramics to composiles. These were procured from various industrial and research establishments. The metal alloys which were supplied in various condition of heat treatments, ranged from aluminium alloy to nitrided and tool steels. The plastic employed were epoxy resins. These were supplied in two different formulations the "Novalac" and the Bisphenol" systems. They were produced in as cast and machined conditions. Thus the influence of both the formulation and the production processes on their cavitation erosion behaviour have been analysed. Silicon carbide arid silicon nitride were the ceramic materials employed in this project. Both were produced under three surface finish conditions. These were fired or sintered, ground and lapped respectively. The performances of all three surface finishes have been elucidated and the cavitation erosion resistance of both silicon carbide and silicon nitride have been ascertained. Glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and Fybroc were the composites utilized. They both employed glass fibre as the reinforcing element. Their cavitation erosion behaviour and resistance have been evaluated. Detailed observation of damage progression in the above three classes of materials have been made. A comprehensive cavitation erosion test data base has been obtained. An appraisal on a comparative basis of the different erosion rates of the various material tested is presented