Application of New Materials to Increase the Reliability of Centrifugal Separators

The urgent task of increasing the durability and reliability of centrifugal separators under the corrosion and erosion impacts of the processed media with a high content of chlorine ions and abrasive inclusions predetermined the transition to the manufacture of rotor parts from corrosion-resistant high-plastic steels of the austenitic and austenitic-ferritic class instead of previously used high-strength low-plastic steels of austenitic-martensitic class. Application of high-plastic corrosion-resistant steels with high fracture toughness characteristics excludes the possibility of brittle fracture of rotors. However, these steels have a low yield point, which makes it necessary to conduct hardening for highly loaded body parts of rotors in the field of centrifugal forces. Hardening ensures the elastic work of the rotor parts during operation, creates residual stress fields, partially compensating for the stresses arising in the operating mode. Based on the results of the study, steels of the austenitic-ferritic class are recommended for the manufacture of separator rotors with the provision of the necessary structural safety margins.