Modelling particulate erosion-corrosion regime transitions for Al/Al2O3 and Cu/Al2O3 MMCs in aqueous conditions

Very little research effort has been directed at development of models of erosion-corrosion of composite materials. This is because, in part, the understanding of the erosion-corrosion mechanisms of such materials is poor. In addition, although there has been a significant degree of effort in the development of models for erosion of MMCs, there are still difficulties in applying such models to the laboratory trends on erosion rate. In this paper, the methodology for mapping erosion-corrosion processes in aqueous slurries was extended to particulate composites. An inverse rule of mixtures was used for the construction of the erosion model for the particulate MMCs. The corrosion rate calculation was evaluated with reference to the matrix material. The erosion-corrosion maps for composites showed significant dependency on pH and applied potential. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the matrix material was observed to affect the regime boundaries. Materials maps were generated based on the results to show the optimum composite composition for exposure to the environment. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.