Mechanical properties and features of erosion of cermets

The erosive wear resistance of cermets with different composition, structure and properties has been investigated. It has been shown that cermets erosive wear resistance cannot be estimated only by hardness, characterised by resistance to penetration. The differences in wear resistance between cermet materials with equal hardness level can be attributed to differences in their resistance to fracture. The present paper discusses some features of the material removal process during the particle-wall collision. Solid particle erosion tests on eight materials have been performed using silicon carbide and silica abrasive particles within a range of erodent size of 0.1-0.3 mm, impact angles from 30 to 90 degrees and particle velocity from 30 to 80 m s(-1). In order to clarify the details of the impact, the process of interaction of solid particles with cermet targets was studied using a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) measuring technique. Systematic studies of the influence of the impact variables on the collision process have been carried out. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.