Investigation on the impact of physical properties of the coal-ash slurries on the erosion wear performance of WC coated steel by using Image processing technique

The various properties of carrier flow (e.g. coal, fly, and bottom-ash slurries) having a major impact in determining the equipment life of various slurry transportation components such as pipelines, pump impellers, bends, etc. Also, in literature, how the size and shape of different erodent affect the various erosion characteristics remain undiscovered. In this study, we propose the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy, Image J software, Energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Ducom slurry pot tester to investigate the effect of particle shape and size, circularity factor, and the impact of various process parameters on the erosion wear of WC-10Co-4Cr-coated SS-410. The experiments were performed by using three different types of erodents such as coal, fly, and bottom ash. The circularity factor, microhardness, and pH value were also measured before the experimentation. Furthermore, Taguchi's approach was used to optimize the impact of influencing parameters. From experimentation, it was revealed that the acidic coal particles able to generate more erosion wear due to their irregular shape and size. The erosion wear generated by these erodents were in the following order: coal > bottom ash > fly ash. Moreover, the particle sizes having the highest impact on the erosion wear rate of SS-410.

Automated summary

The study revealed that coal particles with their acidic nature and irregular shape and size are able to generate more erosion wear, with the order of erosion wear generated by different erodents being coal > bottom ash > fly ash. Additionally, particle size has the highest impact on the erosion wear rate of SS-410.