Solid particle erosion of glass epoxy composite strengthened by metal powder

Abstract

In the present study, the solid particle erosion behavior of glass-epoxy composite strengthened by metal powder has been studied. Four types of specimens were tested; one is composite specimen without metal powder, the others with metal powder, the percentages of which were 5%, 10%, and 20% by weight, respectively. Steady state erosion rates of these composites have been evaluated at various impingement angles (changed from 15 degrees to 90 degrees by 15 degrees increments) with different impact velocities (34 m/s, 53 m/s and 80 m/s). The erosion experiments have been carried out by using silica sand particles (450 +/- 50 mu m) as erodent. The results show that the erosion rate of the composites with and without powder is the highest when the particles impact angle is between 15 degrees and 30 degrees. In addition, the erosion quantity of the composites were nearly the same for the specimens with and without metal powder.