Performance analysis of bare SS-304 using silt of size 350-450?μm at varying speed and at particular silt concentration

Abstract

The silt slurry erosion is a major problem in hydraulic turbines which has become quite serious all over the world as it leads to the loss of material from the target surface. In most of the hydro electric power plants the use of stainless steel is highly preferred because of the good corrosion and erosion resistance. Erosion in turbines occurs due to the silt carried by water from the mountainous region. In the present study the stainless steel of grade 304 (SS-304) which has the potential of use as a hydro turbine material has been selected for analyzing the silt erosion behaviour at varying r.p.m, at a particular concentration and at a definite particle size of the silt. Erosion is a function of various parameters as concentration, particle size, velocity of flow and hardness of silt particles and also the properties of base material. The silt erosion experiments have been performed by using pot tester.The erosion wear morphology was studied using micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis.