Thickness effect on particle erosion resistance of thermoplastic polyurethane coating on steel substrate

The thickness effect of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) coating on solid particle erosion has been characterized. It was found that thickness affected the particle erosion resistance of TPU coating on a steel substrate. For our experiment, the results of the erosion tests show that the best thickness is around 0.75 mm; the thermal effect during the experiment had a significant influence on erosion resistance. The morphology of erodent surfaces before and after sand erosion was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finite element (FE) simulation was used to provide some insights into the reasons for the effect of thickness on particle erosion. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.