A discussion on deformation of solids by the impact of liquids, and its relation to rain damage in aircraft and missiles, to blade erosion in steam turbines, and to cavitation erosion - The resistance of materials to impact erosion damage

Abstract

The behaviour of established and potential turbine blade and erosion shield materials subject to impact erosion by water droplets of controlled size has been investigated over a range of impact velocities up to 1040 ft./s. Both the topographical form and the microstructural characteristics of damage have been studied, and correlated with the conditions of the test and the mechanical properties and phase constitution of the materials. It has been found that the rate of erosion, as measured by mass loss, changes during the course of a test. An initial incubation period is generally followed, successively, by periods of increasing, constant, and then decreasing rates of erosion, possibly culminating in a second steady, but lower, rate of erosion.