PUB - Cavitation Erosion Resistance of Additively Manufactured Materials

Cavitation-induced wear, also known as cavitation erosion, can be found in many fluid power components, especially in water hydraulics. Cavitation erosion leads to component damage and might even cause system failure. The resistance of various materials to cavitation erosion when using conventional manufacturing processes has already been investigated in the past. In this work, the effects of additively manufactured materials on the resistance to cavitation erosion are investigated and compared to effects after conventional manufacturing. Also, the influence of the build-up direction of the additively manufactured specimens on cavitation erosion is determined. As the main indicators of cavitation erosion, mass loss and the surface structure are determined for all specimens.

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Autoren: Guse, Fabian; Voshage, Maximilian Alfons ; Schleifenbaum, Johannes Henrich ; Schmitz, Katharina

The durability of hydraulic components is often limited by wear. In addition to mechanical wear, cavitation-induced wear, which is also known as cavitation erosion, can be found in fluid power components, especially in water hydraulics. Three different types of cavitation can be distinguished: vapor cavitation, gas cavitation, and pseudo-cavitation. Vapor cavitation is a phenomenon that occurs in fluids when the static pressure is reduced below the vapor pressure, which can happen in critical flow conditions and adverse operating points. Consequently, bubbles are formed and transported to regions of higher pressures, where they collapse, releasing a significant amount of kinetic energy. Vapor cavitation represents the most energetic and destructive form of cavitation. As a consequence, this work focuses on the aforementioned vapor cavitation and its effects.