Solid particle erosion of diamond coatings under non-normal impact angles

This paper describes an erosion study, which examines the effect of impact angle on the erosion behaviour of diamond coatings deposited on tungsten substrates by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). The coatings were 37–60 μm in thickness and were erosion tested using angular silica sand with a mean diameter of 194 μm at a particle velocity of 268 m s−1. The impact angles used were 30, 45, 60 and 90°. The results show that the damage features, termed “pin-holes” are generated at all angles, though the number of impacts required for pin-hole initiation is significantly increased at lower angles. This work provides useful information in attempting to explain the mechanism by which damage is generated during the high velocity sand erosion of CVD diamond.