Investigation of the temperature effects on induced impact pressure and cavitation erosion

The effects of temperature on the impact pressure, the erosion of pure aluminum (Al-99.999) and the cavitation aspects developed by vibratory cavitation erosion are investigated. It was found that the impact pressure strongly depends on temperature, as well as on the radial distance. The pressure is higher for lower temperature especially in the central region. The level of deformation differs with the temperature, and it is higher for lower temperature. The characteristic features of the eroded surfaces reveal that the predominant erosion mechanism of pure aluminum is fatigue, irrespective of temperature. It is also observed that the number of bubbles is larger for higher temperature. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.