An electrochemical and microstructural assessment of erosion-corrosion of cast iron

An extensive study has been carried out on grey cast iron (BS 1452) in liqu id erosion and liquid-solid erosion conditions in which weight loss tests h ave been used in conjunction with electrochemical measurements and microsco py. The study has revealed interesting effects of the impingement velocity in solid-free conditions and of solids loading at constant velocity. This e xperimental approach has enabled important interactive effects between mech anical and electrochemical processes to be quantified. It has been demonstr ated that corrosion and erosion, when acting together, accentuate the weigh t loss above what can be accounted for by pure erosion or pure electrochemi cal corrosion. Sequential periods of erosion-corrosion affect the subsequen t static corrosion behaviour and pre-corrosion of grey cast iron significan tly affects the erosion-corrosion behaviour. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.