Design and performance of a novel closed-loop erosion-corrosion tester

In this paper, the authors present a novel closed-loop erosion-corrosion tester designed for the study of wear damage on rotary components, specifically the impellers of centrifugal pumps. This tester improves upon standard slurry pot erosion testers by using a closed loop configuration that allows for the constant use of new particles, thus eliminating the particle blunting limitation faced by these testers. The shape of the sample holder is also altered and allows for better particle distribution and the simultaneous testing of 4 samples at different impingement angles. The tests were carried out on a AISI 1045 carbon steel to verify the repeatability of results. A study on the erosion and erosion-corrosion resistance was then performed on a 304 L stainless steel and a ferritic high chromium cast iron. Results showed that the high chromium cast iron exhibited higher erosion and erosion-corrosion resistance except at 90 degrees angles where its brittle nature made it more vulnerable to erosion and prone to cracking which also affected its corrosion resistance.