AN ANALYSIS OF THE EROSION-OXIDATION INTERACTION MECHANISMS

Materials exposed to a jet of erosive hard particles travelling at high velocities and to elevated temperatures beyond one-third of their melting point, undergo erosion as well as oxidation. Thus, it is necessary to understand the nature of the interaction between erosion and oxidation. Over the last few years, experimental data on elevated temperature erosion in an oxidizing atmosphere, particularly for steels, have become available. However, a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the erosion-oxidation (E-O) interaction is yet to be carried out. In the present paper a theoretical framework for interpreting the nature of the E-O interaction is presented. The possible erosion mechanisms involving E-O interactions are considered and their relative dominance as affected by test variables such as particle size and shape, oxidation rate, particle flux rate etc., are brought out in the form of E-O maps. A new model for the oxidation controlled erosion mechanism is also presented. Finally, a comparison is made between the predictions of the model and the experimental data available in the literature.