Erosion-corrosion-abrasion characteristics in slurry of a zinc based alloyand its composite containing alumina particle dispersoid

This study presents observations made pertaining to the slurry wear behavio ur of a zinc based alloy and its composite containing dispersed alumina par ticles. The influence of varying the sand concentration in the medium and t he traversal distance on the response of the specimens has also been invest igated. Wear rate increased initially with traversal (sliding) distance, at tained a peak, and then decreased thereafter at longer traversal distances. This trend was much more pronounced when tests were conducted in a liquid only medium than in liquid with sand. The presence of suspended sand partic les in the test environment led to a considerably reduced wear rate of the specimens when compared with that of the liquid only medium. Furthermore, i ntermediate sand content caused the maximum wear rate within the slurries, although it was substantially less than that caused by the liquid only medi um. A comparison of the wear response of the composite and the matrix alloy suggested a mixed trend in the liquid only medium and the slurry with 60 w t-% sand. The composite exhibited a lower wear rate than the matrix alloy w hen tested in slurries with 20 and 40 wt-%,. suspended sand particles. The observed wear response of the specimens has been discussed in terms of spec ific characteristics, such as susceptibility to corrosion and hardness of v arious phases, and the interfacial effects in the specimens. The changing n ature of the medium, such as the corrosivity and impinging/abrading efficie ncy, has also been discussed. Analysis of the affected surfaces and subsurf ace regions of typical specimens by SEM enabled the understanding of the op erating wear mechanisms under specific test conditions and thereby it was p ossible to substantiate the observed wear characteristics of the specimens.