Erosion yield data for particular combinations of target and projectil
e materials (via laboratory experiments carried out with a narrow-size
distribution over the important range of impact velocities and incide
nce angles), together with recently developed rational correlations fo
r inertial impaction of suspended particles on a cylinder in high Reyn
olds number crossflow are used to provide a tractable framework for pr
edicting the erosion rates of, say, heat exchanger tubes immersed in p
article-laden streams of combustion products. ''Universal'' results ar
e cast in terms of the following accessible parameters: sensitivity of
erosion yield to projectile incident velocity and angle, ratio of mea
n particle size to the threshold size required for impaction on the cy
lindrical target, spread of the mainstream particle size distribution
(here log-normal), and the characteristic ''slip'' Reynolds number for
the critical size abrasive particle in the mainstream. Applications o
f the results are illustrated, and several generalizations are discuss
ed.