This paper investigates the mechanical erosion of the metal tubes in bagass
e-fired boilers with the aid of the acoustic emission technique. By studyin
g the material removal under various collision conditions, the paper analyz
es the dependence of the erosion wear upon the impact angle, velocity, size
and concentration of the particles. It was found that the material removal
mechanisms were mainly dependent on the particle collision angle and fell
into four regimes characterized by rubbing and scratching, cutting and crac
king, forging and extrusion as particle collision angle and fell into four
reg well as sputtering and adhesion. The highest wear rate took place with
the cutting and cracking mechanism when the particle collision angle was in
the range of 20-30 degrees. The variation of the acoustic emission energy
confirmed the conclusions. Finally, three simple formulae were developed to
show the dependence of the erosion wear upon the main erosion parameters.
(C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.