Development of an Apparatus to Determine High-Temperature Erosive Wear up to 800 °C

Wear, which is attributed to the presence of powdered material, is one of the main factors responsible for material degradation in industry, affecting the performance of important equipments such as valves, vessels, pipeline walls, catalytic reactors, and steam generators. The appropriate selection of materials is of great economical relevance in such degradation situations. The evaluation of materials subjected to severe service conditions is fundamental for estimating their performance. Both low- and high-temperature erosive wears are main concerns due to the catastrophic consequences they may cause. An apparatus for the evaluation of the performance of materials subjected to erosive wear up to 800 °C is presented, described, and validated. During its validation, different materials under different parameter conditions were tested. Results show that the apparatus is able to quantify erosive wear and control process parameters with excellent accuracy.