Showing papers by "Harpreet Singh Grewal published in 2013"

Microstructural and mechanical characterization of thermal sprayed nickel–alumina composite coatings

Abstract: In the current work, Ni–Al 2 O 3 based composite coatings were fabricated using High Velocity Flame Spray (HVFS) system. The effect of alumina content on the microstructure and various mechanical properties viz. microhardness, fracture toughness, density, residual stress and scratch resistance was studied. Microstructure of the coating was characterized with the help of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Optical Microscope (OM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). It was observed that microstructural properties such as splat size, porosity, un-melted particles and surface roughness are highly affected by the alumina content in the coatings. Microhardness improved with the rise in alumina fraction and a maximum of 1151 HV could be achieved with 60 wt.% alumina blending. Cracking and spallation were found to be the mechanisms responsible for damage of coatings during scratch testing. A model has been proposed to explain the variation in surface roughness and porosity of the Ni–Al 2 O 3 coatings based on coating build-up mechanism.

Slurry Erosion Mechanism of Hydroturbine Steel: Effect of Operating Parameters

Abstract: Performance of hydropower plant is severely affected by the presence of sand particles in river water. Degree of degradation significantly depends on the level of operating parameters (velocity, impingement angle, concentration, particle size and shape), which is further related to erosion mechanism. In this investigation, the effect of some of these operating parameters on erosion mechanism of generally used hydroturbine steel, CA6NM (13Cr4Ni), is reported. Morphology and variation in the martensite and austenite phases of the eroded surfaces were investigated using SEM and XRD. It was observed that velocity and impingement angle affect the erosion mechanism of CA6NM steel. Erosion mechanism was also significantly affected by the radial distance from the impact zone. Primary mechanism responsible for the removal of material at normal impingement angle was the formation and removal of platelets. At acute impingement angle, ploughing was observed to be one of the prime mechanisms responsible for the loss of the material. Other than these two well-known erosion mechanisms, the presence of another two erosion mechanisms was also observed. Models have been proposed for these unfamiliar erosion mechanisms. Interaction amongst different operating parameters was studied using line and contour plots. It was observed that the interaction between velocity and concentration was most significant. Using the experimental results, a statistical model based on regression approach was developed. Validity of this statistical model was checked using the experimental results from the literature and present study.

Design and Development of High-Velocity Slurry Erosion Test Rig Using CFD

Abstract: Slurry erosion (SE) is commonly observed in almost all kinds of components and machineries involved in fluid (liquid) transfer and delivery. During design and development phase of these components, test rigs are usually required to evaluate their performance; however, only few detailed designs of test rigs are available for SE investigations. Among the existing designs of SE test rigs, most of them belong to rotary type. In the present study, design of a new type of SE test rig has been proposed, which is simpler in construction and working. This newly designed test rig could possibly eliminate some of the limitations (velocity-concentration interdependence and lack of acceleration distance) found in the existing set-ups. Calibration of the test rig was done for jet velocity and erodent concentration. Commissioning of the rig was undertaken by evaluating the effect of operating parameters (concentration and impingement angle) on the erosion rates of aluminum and cast iron. Results show that the rig was able to capture the traditional responses of ductile and brittle erosion behaviors being observed for these materials. Repeatability of the test rig was ensured, and the results were found to be within the acceptable error limits.

Identifying Erosion Mechanism: A Novel Approach

Abstract: Understanding the erosion mechanism is a key to improve the performance of material subjected to erosive condition. Capability to predict the erosion mechanism could prove to be useful tool. In this work, a parameter named “erosion mechanism identifier,” ξ, is proposed to predict the erosion mechanism in materials. Suitability of ξ in predicting erosion mechanism of ductile and brittle materials was evaluated using the data reported in the literature. It was observed that ξ is able to predict the erosion mechanism for both categories of material. The predictability of ξ was not restrained by different operating conditions.

Plasticity and Fracture Modeling/Experimental Study of a Porous Metal Under Various Strain Rates, Temperatures, and Stress States

Abstract: A microstructure-based internal state variable (ISV) plasticity-damage model was used to model the mechanical behavior of a porous FC-0205 steel alloy that was procured via a powder metal (PM) process. Because the porosity was very high and the nearest neighbor distance (NND) for the pores was close, a new pore coalescence ISV equation was introduced that allows for enhanced pore growth from the concentrated pores. This coalescence equation effectively includes the local stress interaction within the interpore ligament distance between pores and is physically motivated with these highly porous powder metals. Monotonic tension, compression, and torsion tests were performed at various porosity levels and temperatures to obtain the set of plasticity and damage constants required for model calibration. Once the model calibration was achieved, then tension tests on two different notch radii Bridgman specimens were undertaken to study the damage-triaxiality dependence for model validation. Fracture surface analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to quantify the pore sizes of the different specimens. The validated model was then used to predict the component performance of an automotive PM bearing cap. Although the microstructure-sensitive ISV model has been employed for this particular FC-0205 steel, the model is general enough to be applied to other metal alloys as well. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4025292]

Unusually high erosion resistance of zirconium-based bulk metallic glass

Abstract: The liquid impingement erosion behavior of a zirconium-based bulk metallic glass (BMG), Zr44Ti11Cu10Ni10Be25, was evaluated in this study. For comparison, commonly used hydroturbine steel was evaluated under the same test conditions. BMG demonstrated more than four times higher resistance against cavitation erosion compared with hydroturbine steel. The unusually high erosion resistance for BMG is attributed to its uniform amorphous structure with no grain boundaries, higher hardness, and ability to accommodate strain through localized shear bands.