Cavitation damage to potential sewer and drain pipe materials

Charles Fairfield

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    12 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    High-pressure water-jet testing of a range of polymeric and ceramic (clay and concrete) materials was carried out with a view to assessing their performance as potential materials for use in the manufacture of non-pressurised drain and sewer pipes. This work describes test equipment calibration, jetting resistance tests on 20 potential pipe materials, and post-processing of the eroded test samples. The relationships between spatial and temporal fluctuations observed in the water-jet formed the basis for the understanding of the cavitation erosion mechanisms giving rise to the observed damage rates. Mie scattering data provided evidence of droplet and cavity sizes in the cavitating jet upon which initial cavity radii for future Rayleigh-Plesset equation analysis could be based. Those candidate materials with the longest time until the onset of damage (in descending order) for the top five of the materials tested were concrete, clay, 30% (by volume (v/v)) glass-filled nylon, polysulphone, and polyetherimide. The candidate materials capable of resisting the greatest pressure without showing signs of damage for 30. s (in descending order) were polyetheretherketone, clay, polyetherimide, polyphenylene sulphide, and polysulphone.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)92-103
    Number of pages12
    JournalWear
    Volume317
    Issue number1-2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2014

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