Solid particle erosion and mechanical properties of stainless steels at elevated temperature

The mechanical properties of a target material greatly influence its erosion behaviour at elevated temperature. This study investigated the correlation between the mechanical properties of stainless steels at high temperature and its resistance to erosion to estimate high temperature erosion behaviour. Two types of stainless steels, SUS403 and SUS630, were selected. High temperature solid particle erosion tests were performed using 1 mm alumina particles, at impact angles between 30° and 90° and a particle velocity with 100 m/s, with changing test temperature of room temperature, 573 K, 873 K and 1173 K. To clarify the correlation of the mechanical properties and the erosion resistance of the stainless steels, high temperature hardness and tensile tests were also carried out for SUS403 and SUS630, to estimate the erosion damage caused by solid particles. The erosion at an impact angle of 90° for both SUS403 and SUS630, where deformation wear is predominant, suggested that there is a proportional relationship between the decreasing percentage of hardness and the erosion rate. In the case of an impact angle of 30° and test temperature of 1173 K, the erosion rate of SUS403 was twice that of SUS630, suggesting that at a shallow angle, material with a higher elongation easily forms protrusion that can be removed by impacting.