Full Description

Cavitation erosion can create problems for water supplysystems by causing materials failure in pipes and pipeaccessories, especially in regions such as Hong Kong,where water must be supplied to high-rise buildings under highwater pressure. This research project investigated the cavitationerosion and corrosion behaviors of materials - copper, brass,bronze, cast iron, and stainless steel - commonly used in HongKong cold water supply systems. The cavitation erosion resistanceof the various materials was ranked, and the relative significanceof erosion-corrosion synergism was evaluated.In both tap water and deionized water, stainless steel outperformedother materials in resistance to cavitation erosion. Thesynergism of corrosion and erosion had a significant effect onmaterials, contributing to nearly 79% of the overall damage rate incast iron and to 4.7% in stainless steel. Based on their findings,the authors also developed a simple formula for estimating thefractional increase in metal concentration attributable tocavitation erosion.Water supply systems, especially those in which cavitation islikely to occur, should consider both mechanical and corrosionproperties in the selection and development of materials. Cavitationerosion must be taken into account, not only because of itsdamaging effects on susceptible parts but also because of theadditional contamination it induces. Includes 31 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. 94 - No. 8 Published: 08/01/2002 Number of Pages: 9 File Size: 1 file , 190 KB