The method for determination of the beginning of cavitational wear through comparison of mass decrement and destroyed surface increment on the example of FeAl36 alloy

Cavitational erosion is the phenomenon of mechanical destruction of a material due to the implosion of cavitational bubbles. Cavitational resistance is the ability of material to oppose the effect of cavitation being determined most frequently by analysing the kinetics of destruction of a material being examined on a given device. Materials with the highest resistance to cavitational destruction are characterised by the longest incubation period and smaller destruction rate. The carried out laboratory tests of resistance to cavitational erosion showed that determination of the beginning of cavitational wear is very difficult because the kinetics of cavitational destruction depends on: test bed type, tested material and test time. The aim of presented study was to propose a method for determination of the beginning of cavitational wear through comparison of mass decrement and destroyed area increment curves on the example of FeAl36 intermetallic alloy subjected to the cavitational wear on a flux-impact test stand.