Study on role of particle shape in erosion wear of austenitic steel using image processing analysis technique

Properties of flowing media (e.g. such as fly ash, bottom ash, coal, mineral tailings, sand slurries, etc.) play a crucial role in the service life of centrifugal slurry pump components. Generally, these solid particles vary in shape and size. In literature, a limited number of studies have been carried out to investigate the influence of particle size and shape on erosion wear. Stainless steel (SS 316L) is the most commonly used material for the fabrication of slurry pump components namely, casing, impeller, shafts, and sealing columns. In the present study, the influence of particle type and circularity factor on erosion wear of austenitic steel has been studied. A slurry pot tester (Ducom TR-41) was used to perform the experiments that established the erosion wear of slurry pump austenitic steel under the influence of the parameters noted above. Abrasives used in the current study are fly ash, bottom ash, and sand. Surface smoothness, circularity factor, coefficient of variance, sphericity, and solidity of solid particles were also analyzed prior to performing the experiments. The circularity factor value and erosion wear rate hold a power law relationship. Three-dimensional surface plots were plotted to explain the underlying mechanism of erosion wear