Erosion Behavior of AISI 6061-T6

Juan Rodrigo Laguna-Camacho¹, Hermilo Martínez-García¹, Frumencio Escamilla-Rodríguez¹, Carlos Alarcón-Rosas¹, Celia María Calderón-Ramón¹, Lizeth Ríos-Velasco², Lizeth Ríos-Velasco², Matilde Pelcastre-Lozano², Álvaro Casados-Sánchez¹, Melesio González-Gómez¹

¹Faculty of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico.
²Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Poza Rica de Hidalgo, Veracruz, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/jsemat.2015.53015                

Abstract

In this work, erosion tests were performed to study the behavior of an aluminium alloy known as AISI 6061-T6 against the impact action of aluminium oxide abrasive particles. This material was selected because of its high ductility and tenacity. An erosion rig based on that in ASTM G76-95 was used to conduct the tests. The alumina particles had a particle size between 300 and 400 μm. Four incident angles, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° were used to conduct the erosion tests. The particle velocity and the abrasive flow rate were 24 ± 2 m/s and 63 ± 0.5 g/min. The room temperature was between 35°C and 40°C. Chemical analysis of the material and abrasive particles were obtained using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). SEM images were employed to identify the wear mechanisms, which were characterized by high plastic deformation. The erosion rates were obtained and the results indicated that the maximum erosion damage was achieved at 30° reducing progressively at normal incidence.

Keywords

Erosion, AISI 6061-T6, Aluminium Oxide, Wear Mechanisms

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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