Solid particle erosion of unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone composites

The solid particle erosion behaviour of unidirectional carbon fibre (CF) reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composites has been characterised. The erosion rates of these composites have been evaluated at different impingement angles (15–90°) and at three different fibre orientations (0, 45, and 90°). The particles used for the erosion measurements were steel balls with diameter of 300–500 μm and impact velocities of 45 and 85 m/s. The unidirectional CF reinforced PEEK composites showed semi-ductile erosion behaviour, with maximum erosion rate at 60° impingement angle. The fibre orientations had a significant influence on erosion rate. The morphology of eroded surfaces was examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Possible erosion mechanisms are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Onset of matrix cracking in angle-ply ceramic matrix composites

The problem of initial damage in angle-ply [−θ_m/0_n/θ_m] and [−θ/θ] ceramic matrix composites subjected to axial tension is considered in this paper. The damage is in the form of matrix cracks that may appear in either inclined (−θ and θ lamination angle) or longitudinal layers. As follows from the analysis, if the lamination angle of the inclined layers is small, the initial failure occurs in the 0-layers of [−θ_m/0_n/θ_m] composites or in [−θ/θ] composites in the form of bridging cracks. However, if the inclined layers form a larger angle with the load direction, they fail due to tunneling cracks. It is shown that the boundary between two different modes of failure in a representative SiC/CAS composite corresponds to a lamination angle equal to 35° in the case of [−θ_m/0_n/θ_m] composites. In the case of [−θ/θ] laminates, the boundary value of the lamination angle is equal to 45°, i.e. bridging cracks form if θ<45° and tunneling cracks appear if θ>45°.     

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.     

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.     

High temperature erosion of Ti(Mo)C–Ni cermets

The resistance of Ti(Mo)C–Ni cermets of different binder content to solid particle erosion was evaluated at 25, 350 and 650 °C. The elevated temperature erosion of cermets containing 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 wt.% of titanium carbides and produced from the powder of initially different ratios of Ni to Mo were tested with the help of specially designed centrifugal particle accelerator using silica as the abrasive. Erosion rate was related to both microstructure developed during sintering and materials removal mechanisms operating at the test conditions (impact angle of particles jet was 30° and 90° and velocity was 50 ms⁻¹). The erosion rate decreases with the increase of TiC and Mo contents in the composite. At 650 °C the process of tribo-oxidation affected the material performance to a great extent. The morphology of the worn surface was analyzed with SEM to determine the erosion mechanisms.     

Erosion of α-Fe by spherical glass particles

Polycrystalline α-Fe has been eroded at 30° and 90° with glass spheres of average diameters 70 μm and 200 μm in the velocity range 61–122 m s⁻¹. Detailed studies of the influence of the impact variables on the erosion rate as well as scanning electron microscopy studies of the eroded surfaces have been performed. It was observed that “breaking” waves developed on erosion at 30° and hills and valleys at 90°. Several different material loss processes that operate at various positions within waves, hills and valleys have been identified. It was clear that most material loss processes involved extensive localized shear and required the surface to become “conditioned” by a specific number of impacts before material loss began.     

Investigation on solid particle erosion behaviour of polyetherimide and its composites

The present investigation reports about, the solid particle erosion behaviour of randomly oriented short E-glass, carbon fibre and solid lubricants (PTFE, graphite, MoS₂) filled polyetherimide (PEI) composites. The erosion rates (ERs) of these composites have been evaluated at different impingement angles (15–90°) and impact velocities (30–88 m/s). Mechanical properties such as tensile strength (S), ultimate elongation to fracture (e), hardness (H_V), Izod impact strength (I) and shear strength (S_s) seems to be controlling the erosion rate of PEI and its composites. Polyetherimide and its glass, carbon fibre reinforced composites showed semi-ductile erosion behaviour with peak erosion rate at 60° impingement angle. However, glass fibre reinforced PEI composite filled with solid lubricants showed peak erosion rate at 60° impingement angle for impact velocities of 30 and 88 m/s, whereas for intermediate velocities (52 and 60 m/s) peak erosion rate observed at 30° impingement angle. It is observed that 20% (w/w) glass fibre reinforcement helps in improving erosive wear resistance of neat PEI matrix. Erosion efficiency (η) values (0.23–8.2%) indicate micro-ploughing and micro-cutting dominant wear mechanisms. The morphology of eroded surfaces was examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Possible erosion mechanisms are 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).     

Solid particle erosion behaviour of glass fibre reinforced boric acid filled epoxy resin composites

The tests which involved angular aluminium (Al₂O₃) particles with two different sizes of approximately 200 and 400 μm were conducted at the operating conditions namely different impact velocities of approximately 23, 34 and 53 m/s, two different fibre directions [0° (0/90) and 45° (45/−45)] and three different impingement angles of 30°, 60° and 90°. New composites with addition of Boric Acid filler material at 15% of resin exhibited upper wear than the neat materials without filler material. This means the filler material has decreased the erosion wear resistance. SEM views showing worn out surfaces of the test specimens were scrutinised.     

Interlaminar stresses of a rectangular laminated plate with simply supported edges subject to free vibration

The interlaminar stresses in a laminated rectangular orthotropic plate with four sides simply supported edges during free vibration was determined by using the integration method involving the dynamic inertia terms and displacements. The approximate stresses solutions are obtained under the effect of frequencies of vibration for four-layer symmetric cross-ply laminates with the ply configurations [0°/90°]_s and [90°/0°]_s, angle-ply laminates with the ply configuration [45°/−45°]_s. Numerical results show that the natural frequency has significant effects on the dominant interlaminar stresses in the stacking sequences [0°/90°]_s, [90°/0°]_s and [45°/−45°]_s.     

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 behaviour of glass fibre reinforced boric acid filled epoxy resin composites

The tests which involved angular aluminium (Al₂O₃) particles with two different sizes of approximately 200 and 400 μm were conducted at the operating conditions namely different impact velocities of approximately 23, 34 and 53 m/s, two different fibre directions [0° (0/90) and 45° (45/−45)] and three different impingement angles of 30°, 60° and 90°. New composites with addition of Boric Acid filler material at 15% of resin exhibited upper wear than the neat materials without filler material. This means the filler material has decreased the erosion wear resistance. SEM views showing worn out surfaces of the test specimens were scrutinised.     

Impact of stacking sequence on tribological wear performance of woven jute-glass hybrid epoxy composites

Natural fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites have gained much interest because of their environment friendliness and cost-effectiveness compared to synthetic fibre-reinforced composites. The availability of natural fibre and ease of manufacturing have tempted researchers worldwide to develop a locally available low-cost fibre and study their feasibility for reinforcement purposes and to what extent they can satisfy the required specifications of well-reinforced polymer composite for tribological application. FRP composites have various applications in the automobile, aerospace and marine fields. They are applied to inlet cone, fan exit guide vanes and other parts of structures in a turbofan engine for lightening an engine. The erosion characteristics of the FRP composites are of vital importance due to the operational requirements in dusty environments. In this present work, the impact of stacking sequence on erosion wear behaviour of untreated woven jute and glass fabric-reinforced epoxy hybrid composites has been investigated experimentally. The orientation of glass and jute fabric was kept at (0°–90°) and (45°–45°) for all stacking sequences. All the laminates were prepared using four plies, and, the number and position of glass layers were varied so as to obtain four different stacking sequences. The erosion rate of these composites were evaluated at different impingement angles (30°–90°) at three different impact velocities (V = 48, 70, 82 m/s). Silica sand was used as the erodent. Our results showed that the impingement angle had a significant influence on the erosion rate. The composite materials showed semi-ductile behaviour with the maximum erosion at an impingement angle of 60°. The morphologies of the eroded surface were observed by a scanning electron microscope, and the possible erosion mechanisms were discussed.     

Solid particle erosion studies on polyphenylene sulfide composites and prediction on erosion data using artificial neural networks

Solid particle erosion behavior of polyphenylene sulfide, reinforced by short glass fibers with varying fiber content (0–40 wt%) has been studied. Steady-state erosion rates have been evaluated at different impact angles (15–90°) and impact velocities (25–66 m/s) using silica sand particles (200 ± 50 μm) as an erodent. PPS and its composites exhibited maximum erosion rate at 30° impact angle indicating ductile erosion behavior. Though PPS is a brittle thermoplastic, incubation period was found for neat resin and its composites at normal impact (α = 90°). The erosion rates of PPS composites increased with increasing amount of glass fiber. Morphology of eroded surfaces was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and possible wear mechanisms were discussed. Also, artificial neural networks (ANNs) technique has been used to predict the erosion rate based on the experimentally measured database of PPS composites. The results show that the predicted data are well acceptable when comparing them to measured values. A well-trained ANN is expected to be very helpful for prediction of wear data for systematic parameter studies.     

Assessment of Erosion Resistance of Coated Polymer Matrix Composites for Propulsion Applications

The erosion behavior of tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) coated and uncoated polymer matrix composites (PMCs) was examined with solid particle impingement using air jets. Erosion tests were conducted with Arizona Road Dust impinging at 20°, 60°, and 90° angles at a velocity of 229 m s^–1 at both 294 and 366 K. Noncontact optical profilometry was used to measure the wear volume loss. Results indicate that the WC-Co coating enhanced erosion resistance and reduced erosion wear volume loss by a factor of nearly 2. This should contribute to longer wear lives, reduced related breakdowns, decreased maintenance costs, and increased product reliability.     

磨削纤维角对碳纤维复合材料磨削性能的影响

为了研究单向碳纤维复合材料在不同磨削纤维角(磨削方向与纤维取向之间的夹角)下表面的磨削特性和机理,通过一系列磨削实验,研究了磨削纤维角对磨削力、粗糙度和表面形貌的影响,并用扫描电镜(SEM)对磨削加工表面的特征进行了分析。结果表明:不同磨削纤维角下的磨削力遵循45°>90°>0°的顺序;表面粗糙度恰好与此相反,磨削纤维角为0°时拥有最差的表面粗糙度;不同磨削纤维角产生不同的损伤形式,磨削纤维角为0°时材料去除机制是以弯曲破坏为主,90°时以剪切破坏为主,45°时则是由弯曲和剪切破坏共同作用导致。     

Erosive wear properties of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composites

The erosive wear properties of unidirectional carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composites were studied. A semi-ductile erosive wear manner was found regardless of the CF orientation. Wear mechanism analysis revealed that both cutting and deformation mechanisms existed in the erosion of the composites, although different damaging forms were involved depending on the impingement angles and CF orientation. To give further support on the erosion mechanisms, a special procedure was designed to observe the cross-sectional surface of the eroded composites, and the surface temperature variation was registered. It increased with increasing impingement angle, indicating higher energy dissipation by deformation, which is consistent with the revealed shift of the main erosive wear mechanism from cutting to deformation and “wholesale” fiber fracture.     

Erosive wear on ceramic materials obtained from solid residuals and volcanic ashes

In this study, the performance of ceramic materials that were subjected to solid particle erosion was analyzed. This research was performed to characterize the materials in relation to the wear process. The materials could be used in the construction of devices and machine components that are commonly exposed to environments where volatile, abrasive particles typically cause a high rate of wear. The types of composites used in this study could have useful applications in mechanical components, automotive coatings, etc. These materials are usually obtained from solid residuals and volcanic ashes, in which clay and epoxy resin were used as binders.The erosion testing was performed in accordance with the ASTM G76-95 standard. The samples had a rectangular shape, and their dimensions were 50×25 mm² and 10 mm in thickness. The abrasive particles used were angular silicon carbide (SiC) with a particle size of 420-450 μm. The tests were performed using three different incident angles (30°, 45° and 90°) with a particle velocity of 24±2 m/s. The abrasive flow rate was 70 g/min. The particle velocity and the abrasive flow rate were low in all the tests to reduce the interaction between the incident particles and the rebounding particles in the system. Additionally, the total time of each test was 10 min, and the specimens were removed every 2 min to determine the amount of mass lost. The test specimens were located a distance of 7 mm from the shot blast. The surface of the specimens was examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which characterized the erosive wear damage.The results indicated that all of the ceramic materials reached their maximum erosion rate at an incident angle of 90°. The erosion rate was significantly decreased when the angle of incidence was 30°. Additionally, the ceramics that consisted of volcanic ashes and sand mixed with epoxy resin gave a better erosion resistance compared with the materials that were combined with clay. It was assumed that the combination that was mixed with epoxy resin produced a more compact structure in the specimens, which resulted in a less severe attack of the particles that were acting on the surface of the material. The sand and the volcanic ashes that were mixed with clay, which had the poorest performance in the tests, exhibited similar behavior.It was also observed that the damaged area was extended in all of the cases that used an incident angle of 45°, whereas the depth of the wear scars was higher when an incident angle of 90° (normal incidence) was used. The wear scars were characterized by an elliptical shape at 30° and 45°, which is a characteristic feature when the specimens are impacted at low-impact angles (α≤45°), whereas a circular shape was observed at 90°.