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Investigations on the Cavitation Erosion Behavior of Aluminium Bronze in Seawater

In marine applications aluminium bronze is used extensively. The alloy IACS W24 Cu3/ CuAl10Fe5Ni5-C-GS is the most frequently used alloy for large ship propellers.Under certain conditions the material surface of ship propellers is damaged due to cavitation erosion. Cavitation erosion can be described as a hydrodynamic phenomenon which is related to the formation and collapse of gas bubbles in a liquid. The cyclic mechanical load on the material surface causes plastic deformation and material erosion. The addition of corrosive conditions can increase the material erosion.The aim of the following investigations is the understanding of the cavitation erosion behavior of aluminium bronze in artificial seawater with focus on the role of the complex microstructure.Towards this purpose vibratory cavitation tests in artificial sear water were carried out and the damage of the material surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition the corrosion behavior was investigated by exposure tests and registration ofcurrent density-potential-curves.The specimens for the investigations were taken from different parts of a large cast ship propeller: the propeller tip the center and near the hub. Within the propeller there is a significant difference regarding the grain size which is smallest in the tip and four times bigger in the hub. Due to higher strength in the propeller tip in comparison this area shows the smallest cavitation erosion damage.SEM observations showvarious mechanism of damage of the microstructure which includes the Cu-rich α-phase and different intermetallic κ -phases consisting of Al with Ni and Fe.Next step of the investigation was the variation of the standard alloy composition with focus on the Fe/Ni-relation and the Mn-content whereby the composition stays within the limits of the international standard requirements.The different alloy compositions show a significant influence on the formation of the complex microstructure of Aluminium bronze. The specimens with a high Ni-content show mainly the lamellar κ-phases between the α-grains and no round precipitations. Increasing the Fe-content leads to more round iron κ-phases and only a few proportion of eutectoid.The differences of the microstructure influence the mechanical strength and toughness the corrosion resistance and the cavitation erosion resistance of the alloy. The SEM-observations show a selective cavitation erosion and corrosion of the phases.Keywords: cavitation cavitation erosion cavitation corrosion aluminium bronze ship propellers microstructure

Product Number: 51319-13308-SG
Author: Magali Blumenau
Publication Date: 2019
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