COMPUTER-SIMULATION OF EROSION-CORROSION INTERACTIONS AT ELEVATED-TEMPERATURES

Although there have been some attempts to model erosion by solid parti cles at elevated temperatures, there have been few efforts to develop a model which can generate images of the surface morphologies in the v arious erosion-corrosion regimes. Many classifications of erosion-corr osion regimes have been identified and there is evidence that there ar e at least three such regimes. The physical significance of the surfac e in such regimes may be difficult to visualize, particularly when the situation is neither ''erosion-dominated'' (erosion of the substrate) nor ''corrosion-dominated'' (erosion plays a minor role compared with corrosion). The object of this research has been to develop a physica l model to simulate the transitions between erosion-corrosion regimes at elevated temperatures. Properties of the particle (shape, size, vel ocity, hardness, flux), the target (corrosion resistance, hardness, im pact angle) and the environment (gas composition and temperature) are considered in the model. The results are then used to construct a comp uter-generated image of the eroding surface. This paper describes the physical basis of the model and shows how the transitions between the regimes can be achieved by variation of the erosion and corrosion para meters. Typical results are shown and compared with existing erosion-c orrosion data. The future development of the research is outlined in t erms of the application to other environments in which erosion-corrosi on occurs.