Optimization of Al2O3 and TiO2 Blends to be Used as Erosion Resistant Coating for Mild Steel

Abstract

In the hydro power plants, mild steel pipes are used to transport river water from Dam to the turbine house. This water usually contains sand particles that are also transported through these pipelines that are observed to erode the pipelines at different locations. The present study is thus conducted to investigate the erosion phenomenon of similar sand particles on a mild steel specimen. The base material mild steel is coated with two different coating powder in three different proportions viz. 70 Al2O3 + 30 TiO2, 80 Al2O3 + 20 TiO2, and 60 Al2O3 + 40 TiO2. The experiments are performed in a slurry pot tested at 750, 1000, 1250, and 1500 rpm for 30–120 min. The results show that on the blending of 30% TiO2 feedstock coating powder with 70%, Al2O3 is more beneficial to improve the erosion resistance of mild steel.