CONSIDERATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STEELS WITH CONSTANT CHROMIUM CONTENT ON THE RESISTANCE TO CAVITATION EROSION

摘要

This paper analyses the resistance to cavitation erosion of four types of stainless steels cast according to special recipes. These stainless steels have a constant content of Cr ≈12% and C ≈0.1%, and variable nickel content. The steels are intended for the manufacture of pallets and rotors of hydraulic machines. The penetrating depth and the evolution of cavitation erosion are influenced by the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the material. Following the tests that were conducted on the four specimens in the Hydraulic Machines Laboratory in Timi?oara on the magnetostrictive vibratory apparatus with nickel tube [1,2], a tendency of higher cavitation erosion resistance was noted for the steel with 6% Ni.