Cavitation erosion of materials

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Abstract
After a brief historical survey of cavitation and its deleterious effects, erosion and material response are considered from the point of view of stress field generation caused by cavitation collapse and the ensuing physical and chemical processes which contribute to erosion damage. The microstructural aspects of plastic deformation preceding erosion are then emphasized and compared with the defects and dislocation arrangements observed in the usual mechanical behaviour testing of materials. Experimental methods of erosion damage evaluation are described, followed by a presentation of results of erosion damage obtained from different types of laboratory test devices. Erosion-rate curves and surface topography developments are discussed. In the last section, a critical review of published data on correlation between erosion resistance, defined as weight loss per unit time, and the other mechanical characteristics of materials is presented. This section is continued with a short comparison between cavitation erosion and other types of erosion, followed by a description of some remedies and applied industrial techniques to prevent and reduce erosion damage. Erosion prediction models and hypotheses are then summarized. Finally, in the conclusion of this review, it is proposed that cavitation erosion should be considered as a unique type of material damage in its own right. This is supported by the analysis of the stresses imposed by cavitation and the electron microscopy observations of the eroded surfaces. Thus, no direct connection is to be expected between the effects of cavitation stressing and other mechanical treatments.

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