Sand erosion of metals and plastics: A brief review

doi:10.1016/0043-1648(69)90048-9

Wear

Volume 14, Issue 4, October 1969, Pages 241-248

https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1648(69)90048-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Erosion caused by solid particles, such as sand grains, can occur under a variety of service situations but has received little disciplined study before about 1960.

The parameters influencing the extent of the erosion are associated with the impact conditions and the properties of the impacting particles and target surface, Their effects are briefly reviewed and it is concluded that further work is required to elucidate the mechanisms of erosion and relate material properties to erosion resistance.

References (16)

I. Finnie
Erosion of surfaces by solid particles
Wear
(1960)
J.H. Neilson et al.
Erosion by a stream of solid particles
Wear
(1968)
J.H. Bitter
A study of erosion phenomena Part I
Wear
(1963)
G.P. Tilly
Erosion caused by airborne particles
Wear
(1969)
W.A. Hibbert
Helicopter trials over sand and sea
J. Roy. Aeron. Soc.
(1965)
J.H. Neilson et al.
An experimental investigation into aspects of erosion in rocket motor tail nozzles
Wear
(1969)
J.H. Bitter
A study of erosion phenomena Part II
Wear
(1963)
C.D. Wood et al.
Mechanisms of dust erosion

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (96)

Degradation and lifetime prediction of plastics in subsea and offshore infrastructures
2023, Science of the Total Environment
Engineering and civil developments have relied on synthetic polymers and plastics (including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, etc.) for decades, especially where their durability protects engineering structures against corrosion and other environmental stimuli. Offshore oil and gas infrastructure and renewable energy platforms are typical examples, where these plastics (100,000 s of metric tonnes worldwide) are used primarily as functional material to protect metallic flowlines and subsea equipment against seawater corrosion. Despite this, the current literature on polymers is limited to sea-surface environments, and a model for subsea degradation of plastics is needed. In this review, we collate relevant studies on the degradation of plastics and synthetic polymers in marine environments to gain insight into the fate of these materials when left in subsea conditions. We present a new mathematical model that accounts for various physicochemical changes in the oceanic environment as a function of depth to predict the lifespan of synthetic plastics and the possible formation of plastic debris, e.g., microplastics. We found that the degradation rate of the plastics decreases significantly as a function of water depth and can be estimated quantitatively by the mathematical model that accounts for the effect (and sensitivity) of geographical location, temperature, light intensity, hydrostatic pressure, and marine sediments. For instance, it takes a subsea polyethylene coating about 800 years to degrade on ocean floor (as opposed to <400 years in shallow coastal waters), generating 1000s of particles per g of degradation under certain conditions. Our results demonstrate how suspended sediments in the water column are likely to compensate for the decreasing depth-corrected degradation rates, resulting in surface abrasion and the formation of plastic debris such as microplastics. This review, and the complementing data, will be significant for the environmental impact assessment of plastics in subsea infrastructures. Moreover, as these infrastructures reach the end of their service life, the management of the plastic components becomes of great interest to environmental regulators, industry, and the community, considering the known sizeable impacts of plastics on global biogeochemical cycles.
Effect of pipe size on erosion measurements and predictions in liquid-dominated multiphase flows for the elbows
2023, Wear
Solid particle erosion in pipelines and pipe fittings occurs when solids are produced in the oil and gas industries during transporting fluids. Erosion of elbows in series for liquid-dominated flows has gained recognition as many oil fields operate in deep-water subsea flow lines and also in conventional wells onshore. Although significant data is available for gas-dominated flows, the data for liquid-dominated flows are scarce and limited to 50.8 mm pipe elbows in dispersed bubble flow only. Thus, it is essential to determine erosion for different pipe sizes to investigate the pipe size effect and for different flow regimes. This work conducts experiments in vertical liquid-solid flows, and liquid-gas-solid churn flows to examine erosion using 340 μm sand particles in 50.8 mm and 76.2 mm standard SS316 elbows in series separated at a distance of three diameters between them. In addition, flow visualization and paint-removal experiments are conducted to predict the erosion patterns in the elbows. Furthermore, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed to simulate the experimental conditions. Eulerian and VOF multiphase models with different turbulence models are used in CFD simulations to predict erosion on the elbows in series and compare with the experimental results. The CFD results, when modified to account for the lubrication effects of the liquid, can predict the experimentally observed erosion pattern and the magnitudes.
Improvement of solid particle erosion resistance of helicopter rotor blade with hybrid composite shield
2021, Engineering Failure Analysis
In the present study, the solid particle erosion behavior of polyurethane (PU) tape (3M-8663) material, bidirectional carbon fiber reinforced epoxy (CF/EP) and glass fiber reinforced epoxy (GF/EP) composites has been characterized experimentally and numerically. In the experimental part, steady-state erosion rates of aforementioned materials have been evaluated at different impact angles (20°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) and different impact velocities (70, 110, 150, and 190 m/s), and compared with those of stainless steel (SS304) and pure nickel materials (Ni) which are commonly used for erosion shield of helicopter rotor blades. Tests were conducted at room temperature using silica (SiC) particles (average diameter of 175 µm) as an erodent. Erosion behaviors on the shield surface of the same materials were investigated numerically under different impact velocities (110, 150, 190, and 230 m/s) for a pitch angle of 0°. Numerical erosion simulations were realized with commercial ANSYS-Fluent software using the finite volume method, an erosion model, and a discrete phase method with the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The experimental results showed that the GF/EP and the CF/EP composites indicated the maximum erosion rate at the impact angles ranged from 60° to 90°, whereas the PU tape material exhibited the maximum erosion rate at the impact angle of 30°. The results also showed that the PU tape surface clearly provided much better erosion resistance than the GF/EP and CF/EP composite surfaces, and the hybrid erosion shield having the PU/SS304 surface significantly improved the erosion resistance of the helicopter rotor blade up to the impact velocity of 150 m/s. A good agreement was also observed between the experimental and the numerical results.
Vector-based deterioration index for gas turbine gas-path prognostics modeling framework
2021, Energy
This study presents a conceptual modeling framework for gas path prognostics of the gas turbine, to improve condition monitoring knowledge. The structure contains main concepts related to power plant performance degradation, reliability degradation, and the relationships between these concepts. Potential fault modes, physical age, deviation factors of performance parameters, and new vector-based deterioration index are some components of the framework. The deterioration index vector has been defined as resultant of deviation factors of performance parameters in an orthogonal system. This vector value is function of physical age. The framework has been obtained from the survey of experimental and semi-empirical data for various types of gas turbines. Some limited parts of the structure have been implemented for a 100 kW micro gas turbine. The prognostic has been simulated in two parts. The first simulation was performance analysis for different fault modes of the compressor with fixed electrical power. The turbine inlet temperature was increased for all compressor fault modes. The second simulation was the analysis of fixed compressor fault mode for one-year with variable power. The annual fuel consumption was increased by 3.29%, and the mean remaining useful life of the turbine was reduced 88% in one-year operation.
Surface deformation micromechanics of erosion damage at different angles and velocities for aero-engine hot-end components
2019, Wear
Wrought superalloy materials have been extensively used to manufacture hot-end components of small-scaled aero-engines. During take-off and flying at low altitude, airplane components such as turbine disks are subjected to ultrahigh speed erosion by low-flux, small-grained sand particles, which renders their service life shorter than the expected design life. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the damage mechanism of wrought superalloys subjected to solid-particle erosion. In the present study, we have manufactured three types of wrought superalloys by using a dual process combining vacuum induction and electro-slag remelting, followed by solution aging treatments. The fabricated alloys are designated as GH720Li, GH4738, and GH4169. Solid-particle erosion tests are performed using 700 µm silica sand particles, at impact angles between 30° and 90° and particle velocities of 25 and 55 m/s. Simultaneously, using the experimental parameters, a multi-particle dynamic model of erosive wear is established using the ANSYS LS-DYNA software. To analyze the elastoplastic behaviors of the target surfaces under the combined effect of impact particles velocities and angles, the damage mechanism of multiple particles simultaneously impacting on the surface of target materials is developed using a non-linear material model. Additionally, the microstructures and microhardness of the alloys are analyzed to study the erosion-related properties of the eroded subsurface after erosion tests. The erosion results show that the three alloys exhibit different degree of wear removal under the joint effect of the impact velocity and angle, including high velocity/low angle, high velocity/high angle, low velocity/high angle, and low velocity/low angle conditions. Analysis of the erosion-related properties indicates that the microstructural changes and variation in the microhardness of the subsurfaces after the erosion tests prevent deterioration of the substrate due to erosion damage. The multi-particle simultaneously impacting model reveals the correlation mechanisms between the erosion failure properties of various material surfaces under different conditions and the elastoplastic behavior of the subsurface. These results would contribute to the improvement of the service life of the turbine disk components under erosion failure and provide a theoretical basis for their structural design.
Room temperature and 600 °C erosion behaviour of various chromium carbide composite coatings
2019, Wear
Citation Excerpt :
Fig. 8 shows the variation in erosion wear rate of the laser clad coatings at room temperature and 600 °C as a function of hardness of the coatings. It has been shown for alloys and ceramics [26,27], that there exists no clear relationship between the erosion rate and hardness of the coatings. The present study on this composite system with wide range of carbide contents shows a similar result.
In this study, the erosion behaviour of laser clad chromium carbide-Ni rich alloy composite coatings with a wide range of carbide contents at room temperature and 600 °C were investigated. The variation in carbide content of the coatings was due to dilution from the substrate and the high cooling rate in the laser cladding process preventing re-solidification of the molten carbides. Erosion rate was observed to be a function of carbide content alone and was significantly higher at 600 °C as compared to room temperature. Erosion wear ratio (E₉₀/E₃₀) was also dependent on carbide content but decreased at higher temperature and higher carbide contents. A comparison of erosion behaviour with detonation and plasma sprayed counterparts showed the superior performance of laser clad coatings at 600 °C. The poor erosion performance of the detonation and plasma sprayed coatings was due to weak splat bonding. Thick oxide layer formed on the steel substrate after pre-oxidation resulted in its poor erosion performance.

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: Paper presented at the Materials Science Club meeting on “Abrasive wear of materials”, held at the National College of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, U.K., July 16–17, 1969.

View full text

Sand erosion of metals and plastics: A brief review☆

Abstract

Wear

Wear

Wear

Wear

Helicopter trials over sand and sea

J. Roy. Aeron. Soc.

An experimental investigation into aspects of erosion in rocket motor tail nozzles

Wear

A study of erosion phenomena Part II

Wear

Mechanisms of dust erosion