Comparative investigation of ultrasonic cavitation erosion for three materials in deionized water

Abstract

To investigate the response of material to cavitation erosion, a comparative work was carried out on three materials, aluminum, copper alloy and titanium. Ultrasonic cavitation erosion was produced as the specimen was submerged in the deionized water. Within a cavitation erosion period of 120 min, the cumulative mass loss was measured at certain time intervals. Surface structure and cavitation damage patterns were observed for the three materials. Microhardness was measured and compared. The results indicate that the cumulative mass loss of aluminum is the highest among the three materials, while the slightest material removal is associated with titanium, which is still in the initial stage of cavitation erosion after 120 min of cavitation erosion. The surface of the aluminum specimen is eroded rapidly after the cavitation erosion commences. Large erosion pits dominate the eroded surface as the cavitation erosion progresses. The surface of the titanium specimen manifests needle-like erosion pits and cleavage cracks. Even at the later stage of the cavitation erosion, non-eroded surface elements are identifiable. The cavitation erosion pattern on the copper alloy specimen surface is related to the twin-phase crystal structure and large erosion pits are produced at the later stage of cavitation erosion. The highest resistance to the cavitation erosion of titanium is related to the close-packed hexagonal structure and the weak slip effect associated.

Effects of cavitation erosion-induced surface damage on the corrosion behaviour of TA31 Ti alloy

“…Additionally, TA31 Ti alloy exhibited a hexagonal close-packed structure with a low-slip system, which did not easily dissipate CE energy through plastic deformation under CE stress. Consequently, stress concentrations occurred at grain boundaries and defects, leading to material shedding [10] . Fig.…”

“…Li et al reported that a sample in an oxygen-saturated solution exhibited better CE resistance than that in a nitrogen-saturated solution for the same CE time because of structural differences of the passive film in different solutions [9] . Opare et al noted that the weak slip effect of the closely packed hexagonal structure of Ti alloys protected the sample surface against CE, leading to higher CE resistance compared with Al and Cu alloys [10] . Furthermore, in NaCl solution, the CE process of Ti alloys is affected by the synergistic effect of mechanical impact damage and corrosion, causing additional material damage.…”

Effect of micro-particles on cavitation erosion behavior of 2Cr3WMoV steel

“…A large number of studies have shown that cavitation erosion of microparticles is affected by many factors such as particle size, particle concentration and substrate material (Opare, 2019; Zhang, 2017; Chen et al , 2009). The effect of different sediment particle sizes on cavitation erosion behavior of turbine blades was studied, and they found that small particle size referred to the failure mode of shock wave, and large particle size induced the failure mode of microjet (Liao et al , 2012).…”