Investigation of the Ring Area Formed Around Cavitation Erosion Pits on the Surface of Carbon Steel

The ring areas formed around micropits in cavitation erosion experiments were investigated. The corrosion behavior and vibratory cavitation erosion tests of mild carbon steel in tap and distilled water were carried out. Thus, the ring areas were densely formed in tap water and scarcely formed in distilled water in cavitation tests. The ring areas formed around micropits in cavitation and free cavitation tests have a similar shape. Moreover, SEM examinations showed that the corrosion products spread within the ring areas. Thus, the ring areas formed around micropits are the result of corrosion effect and are not the result of thermal effects due to bubble collapse.