Abstract
The erosion-corrosion of carburized and untreated low alloy steel (AISI 5117) has been investigated using slurry whirling-arm test rig. Erosion-corrosion tests were carried out in slurries composed of sand particles and either tap water or 3 % NaCl solution. The tests were carried out with particles concentration of 1 wt% and slurry stream impact velocity of 15 m/s. Silica sand having a nominal size range of 250-355 mu m was used as an erodent. It has been shown that the erosion and erosion-corrosion resistance of AISI 5117 low alloy steel can be effectively improved by carburizing for all impact angles. However, the effectiveness of carburizing was the highest for an impact angle of 45A degrees, where the erosion and erosion-corrosion resistance were increased by 60-40 %, respectively, compared with that of the untreated material. The results showed that the treated and untreated specimens behaved as ductile materials under erosion and erosion-corrosion tests, and the maximum mass loss occurred at an impact angle of 45A degrees. SEM analysis showed that the erosion tracks developed on the untreated specimens were wider and deeper than that formed on the carburized specimens for erosion and erosion-corrosion tests.