Slurry erosion of metallics, polymers, and ceramics: particle size effects

One of the least well understood areas in the study of erosion by solid particles is the effect of particle size. Erosion is generally assumed To be independent of particle size above a critical value. However; there is evidence that this pattern is dependent on the process conditions. In the present study, the effect of particle size was investigated for different classes of materials, which included two pure metals, an alloy, a ceramic, and a polymer. The apparatus used was an impinging jet. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterise the degradation following erosion. The results showed that the erosion rate peaked at intermediate particle sizes, for some of the materials studied. However the particle size at which the peak occurred changed as a function of target and particle properties. Such observations were explained in terms of the combined effects of particle, target, and fluid flow parameters on the erosion mechanisms of the different materials. MST/3933.