Rotating Disc Apparatus and its application to estimate sediment erosion in Hydro turbines

The removal of surface material due to repeated impacts of sediment is known as sediment erosion. This prominent phenomenon is found to exist on a run of the river types of hydro projects where the hydro turbines are exposed to sediment particles. It has drawn the attention of researchers, academic institutions, and hydropower developers to conduct research on this issue. Investigation of the problem at the site may require sophisticated equipment and sensors- set up for quantitative measurements. This process is time consuming and difficult as it is difficult to access the erosion location. Laboratory setup can be a solution to study and investigate erosion behaviour in well-controlled laboratory conditions. Among several erosion testing apparatuses, Rotating Disc Apparatus (RDA) has been used for the investigation of erosion as well as cavitation of hydro components, and to study the erosion resistivity of different materials. This device mainly consists of a rotating disc and an electric motor, which is used to rotate a disc-holding specimen. This paper evaluates the RDA for its applicability in simulating the flow on the surfaces of the components of the hydro turbines as that occurs in actual hydro power plants. The outcomes from the present study indicated that RDA produces promising erosion results and can simulate the wear conditions.

Backward erosion testing : Magnolia Levee

Using a confined flume device, an experimental study investigated the critical horizontal gradient of soils obtained from a site identified as potentially vulnerable to backward erosion piping (BEP). Tests were conducted on glacial outwash material obtained from a sand and gravel quarry in the vicinity of Magnolia Levee in the community of Magnolia, OH. The two bulk samples collected from the quarry had similar grain-size distributions, grain roundness, and depositional environments as the foundation materials beneath the levee. Samples were prepared at various densities and subjected to gradual increases of flow in a wooden flume with an acrylic top until BEP was observed. The critical average horizontal gradient ranged from 0.21 to 0.30 for a bulk sample with a coefficient of uniformity of 1.6, while tests conducted on a bulk sample with a coefficient of uniformity of 2.5 yielded critical average horizontal gradients of 0.31 to 0.36. The critical average gradients measured during these tests compared favorably to values in the literature after applying adjustments according to Schmertmann’s method.

Assessment of a Wind Turbine Blade Erosion Lifetime Prediction Model with Industrial Protection Materials and Testing Methods

Leading edge protection (LEP) coating systems are applied to protect turbine blade edges from rain erosion. The performance of a LEP system is assessed in an accelerated rain erosion test (RET) as a metric for industrial application, but these tests are expensive. Modelling methods are available to predict erosion, based on fundamental material properties, but there is a lack of validation. The Springer model (1976) is analysed in this work to assess it as a tool for using material fundamental properties to predict the time to failure in a rain erosion test. It has been applied, referenced and industry validated with important partial considerations. The method has been applied successfully for erosion damage by wear performance prediction when combined with prior material data from rain erosion test (RET), instead of obtaining it directly from fundamental properties measured separately as Springer proposed. The method also offers accurate predictions when coupled with modified numerical parameters obtained from experimental RET testing data. This research aims to understand the differences between the experimental data used by Springer and the current industry approach to rain erosion testing, and to determine how it may introduce inaccuracies into lifetime predictions of current LEP systems, since they are very different to those tested in the historic modelling validation. In this work, a review of the modelling is presented, allowing for the understanding of key issues of its computational implementation and the required experimental material characterisation. Modelling results are discussed for different original application issues and industry-related LEP configuration cases, offering the reader to interpret the limits of the performance prediction when considering the variation in material fundamental properties involved.

The Effect Of Tangential Velocity Component In Abrasive Jet Micro-Machining Of Borosilicate Glass

Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.

The Effect Of Tangential Velocity Component In Abrasive Jet Micro-Machining Of Borosilicate Glass

Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.

A Staged Approach to Erosion Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Coatings

The current wind turbine leading-edge erosion research focuses on the end of the incubation period and breakthrough when analysing the erosion mechanism. This work presented here shows the benefits of splitting and describing leading-edge erosion progression into discrete stages. The five identified stages are: (1) an undamaged, as-new, sample; (2) between the undamaged sample and end of incubation; (3) the end of incubation period; (4) between the end of incubation and breakthrough, and (5) breakthrough. Mass loss, microscopy and X-ray computed tomography were investigated at each of the five stages. From this analysis, it was observed that notable changes were detected at Stages 2 and 4, which are not usually considered separately. The staged approach to rain erosion testing offers a more thorough understanding of how the coating system changes and ultimately fails due to rain droplet impacts. It is observed that during microscopy and X-ray computed tomography, changes unobservable to the naked eye can be tracked using the staged approach.

Ultrasonic Cavitation Erosion Behavior of AlCoCrxCuFe High Entropy Alloy Coatings Synthesized by Laser Cladding

Cavitation corrosion resistant coatings are an excellent solution to the cavitation corrosion problem. High entropy alloys provide a new possibility for cavitation resistant coatings due to their excellent comprehensive performance. Laser cladding was employed to synthesize AlCoCrxCuFe (x represents the Cr concentration, x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) high entropy alloy coatings (HECs) on AISI 304 steel. The phase transformation, microstructure, micro-mechanical properties, and cavitation erosion performance of HECs were studied. Results showed that AlCoCrxCuFe HECs were composed of BCC and FCC duplex phase. The microstructure of HECs showed a typical dendritic structure. The composition segregation of interdendrite structures was observed. Cavitation erosion resistance represented by 20 h volume loss was decreased with the increase in Cr content. AlCoCrxCuFe HECs with the lowest chromium content (AlCoCr0.5CuFe) showed the best cavitation erosion resistance among all samples. The cavitation resistance of AlCoCrxCuFe HECs has good correlation with the mechanical parameter Hn3/Er2 (Hn is nanohardness, Er is elastic modulus) and phase formation parameter δ (δ is atomic radius difference). The surface after 20 h of cavitation erosion testing exposed the dendritic structure of BCC phase, which was caused by the destruction of the interdendrite structure by cavitation impact.