An experiment system for testing synergetic erosion caused by sand abrasion and cavitation

Abstract

An advanced comprehensive test system, designed for testing synergetic erosion due to cavitation and sand abrasion in hydraulic machinery, is presented in this paper. This system includes an integrated test rig, control platform, and state-of-the-art measurement etc. For the integrated test system, there are three test modes, Venturi-section water tunnel, rotating disc and rotating disc with jet nozzle. The maximum velocity is 45 m/s for Venturi-section water tunnel test mode, and 85 m/s for rotating disc test mode. The pressure range for those two test modes can be regulated within -0.09 MPa∼0.6 MPa. The highest flow relative velocity is 120 m/s for rotating disc with jet nozzle test mode. All key parameters measured from the test rig, such as flow discharge, pressure, sand concentration, temperature etc, can be displayed online and processed in the control platform. This new test system provides researchers with the possibility to measure cavitation erosion, sand abrasion and the synergetic damage in hydraulic machinery. Further, flow visualization analysis, weight loss measurements and erosion outline measurements are available using the system.