Abstract:
Slurry Erosion is a material removal process by fast moving solid particles suspended in a fluid stream i.e. the slurry. Slurry erosion limits the useful life and reliability of the equipment handling solid-liquid mixtures such as pumps, turbine, boilers plates, heat exchanger tubes etc. Hence it is of vital importance to study the wear rate and erosion characteristics of the material of equipment which aresubjected to slurry erosion and to investigate the possibilities of enhancement of their life. The aim of the present study is to find the effect of height of bottom propeller (with reference to the base of the pot) on the erosion wear of the SS-316 material subjected to sand-water slurry. The main purpose of changing the bottom propeller height from the base is to obtain
different turbulence conditions and varying distribution of sand particles in water which in turn affect the erosion wear rate.
Experiments are conducted at five bottom propeller heights with six impact angles varying from 15o to 90o at each height. Other parameters such as velocity of bottom propeller, solid concentration, velocity of top shaft are kept fixed for every position of bottom propeller. Maximum erosion wear is observed at a particular angle for each propeller height. Also, the erosion wear increases with increase in propeller height and starts decreasing after a certain height. Scanning electron Microscope (SEM) analysis is also employed so as to observe the pattern of erosion wear at different propeller heights.
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