Effect of addition of strong oxidizer and temperature on the cavitation erosion resistance of different microstructures made from a high carbon steel

Abstract

The effect of strong oxidizer and operating temperature on the cavitation erosion (CE) resistance of pearlitic, bainitic, martensitic, and tempered martensitic microstructures made from a high carbon steel (HCS) using suitable heat treatment was studied. The mean erosion rates of the different microstructures (pearlitic, bainitic, martensitic, and tempered martensitic) of the HCS increased up to ∼96, ∼182, ∼61, and ∼117 times, respectively, in 3.5 wt% NaCl+ 0.1 N FeCl3 solution as compared to 3.5 wt% NaCl when the temperature remained constant at 25 °C. This large increase in the mean erosion rates attributes to the addition of a strong FeCl3 oxidizer. Furthermore, the mean erosion rates of the above-mentioned microstructures of the HCS increased up to ∼4.9, ∼3.3, ∼3.2, and ∼2.7 times, respectively, when the solution was replaced after an hour without any temperature control.