The Effect of Particle Impact Angle and Particle Concentration on the Wear of ASTM A53 and VCN150

The pipes and fittings in the systems are exposed not only to a corrosive environment, but also to the impact by solid particles contained in mud drains. resulting in an erosive wear on the surface. Erosion corrosion of at wetted passages is a major parameter to the working life of slurry wet piping systems. There are many environmentJ ~ for instance, power generation plants where components experience mechanical as well as aqueous corrosion. Current understanding of the factors considered to determine the response of a material to such conditions involves a large number of independent variables, so it is not smprising that our ability in selecting materials for improved performances remains filirly rudimentary. In this study the effect of particle impact angle and concentration of particles in copper concentration slurry was investigated. Slurry erosion tests were carried out using a jet-in-slit apparatus on two types of steels, thoroughly taking into account the fact that erosion damage is highly dependent on the impact angle of the particles and particle concentration. Shmies of copper concentrate and aqueous solutions were continuously fed into the test chamber, where they abraded and simultaneously COIl'Oded the test specimens. Erosion experiments on ASTM AS3 and VCN150 were carried out Weight loss rates determined by weighing the specimens by an electronic balance with 0.0001 gmm accuracy. The surface of the specimens was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM); SEM studies of the eroded-corroded surfaces indicated that an increase in the content of the solid particles resulted in greater damage to the steels. As a result VCN150 proved to have excellent anti-erosion and anti-corrosion properties compared to ASTM AS3. The wear mtes increased wi1h increasing concentration of particles and decreased with increasing impact angle.