Investigation of solid particle erosion behaviour of SS-304 under different conditions

Abstract

Erosion is a multifarious phenomenon and observed to be the major cause of failure of many engineering systems including aircraft engines, power generation units and industrial equipment. In the current study, erosion tests were carried out on SS-304 steel by utilizing an air jet erosion testing rig. The erosion behaviour of austenitic stainless steel (SS-304) at different temperatures (room temperature, 200 °C and 400 °C) was evaluated. The effect of impingement angle of erodent particles on erosion mechanism was also determined. It was observed that the erosion rate of steel was higher at room temperature and decreased gradually with increase in temperature up to 400 °C. The erosion rate was also observed to be high at oblique impact angle (30°) as compared to normal impact angle (90°) indicating the ductile mode of erosion. Further scanning electron microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) attachment was utilized for surface characterization of eroded samples. The eroded samples show the development of lips and craters which results in plastic deformation of material.