Solid particle erosion of glass epoxy composite strengthened by metal powder

Abstract

In the present study, the solid particle erosion behavior of glass-epoxy composite strengthened by metal powder has been studied. Four types of specimens were tested; one is composite specimen without metal powder, the others with metal powder, the percentages of which were 5%, 10%, and 20% by weight, respectively. Steady state erosion rates of these composites have been evaluated at various impingement angles (changed from 15° to 90° by 15° increments) with different impact velocities (34 m/s, 53 m/s and 80 m/s). The erosion experiments have been carried out by using silica sand particles (450 ± 50 μm) as erodent. The results show that the erosion rate of the composites with and without powder is the highest when the particles impact angle is between 15° and 30°. In addition, the erosion quantity of the composites were nearly the same for the specimens with and without metal powder.