Influence of Some Key Parameters on Erosion Rate for Composite Materials

Erosion by solid particles, also known as particle erosion or abrasive wear, is a form of mechanical wear caused by the impact and/or rubbing of solid particles on a material surface. The severity of erosion by solid particles depends on several factors, including the properties of the particles (e.g., size, shape, hardness, and velocity), the properties of the material being eroded (e.g., hardness, toughness, and ductility), and the environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, and corrosiveness). This research has two parts. The first part involves the development of a locally manufactured erosion rig, while the second part is theoretical and utilizes a CFD program. The erosion process was carried out with different cumulative weights from impingement solid particles, impact velocities (25.2, 35 and 45 m/s), impingement angles (30°), feed rate (10 g/min), temperature (25 °C) size diameters of solid particles, (350-500) and percentage of reinforcement silicon carbide composites (5, 8 wt.%) of silicon carbide (SiC). Validation and comparison of the results between practical and theoretical analysis. The target materials are unreinforced polyester, polyester -5 wt % SiCp composite and Polyester -8 wt % SiCp composite. The composites with 5 wt.% SiCp shows better erosion resistance than unreinforced polyester and 8 wt.% SiCp composite. And, for 8 wt.% SiCp composite, it could be the loss of ductility associated with more weight percent of SiCp added, which may be attributed partly to increases in erosion rate.