On the relationship between erosion, energy dissipation and particle size

The modelling of kinetic energy dissipation in solid particle impact with a surface is of crucial importance in numerous applications. In this study, the impact model of Uzi and Levy (2018) is considered as the base point for investigating the particle size effect and the correlated erosion rate in the energy dissipation model. This model allows distinguishing between energies absorbed in the particle and in the wall. This is particularly applicable when particle plastic deformation, fragmentation and erosion of the surface occur simultaneously. To determine the erosion rate, two empirical constants were introduced to the equation that relates the energy loss with the erosion rate. In addition, a size effect function was included in the equation to consider the variation of erosion with particle size. Various experimental results from the literature were found to correlate well with the suggested scheme, either by deformation or cutting erosion mechanism. A non-dimensional master curve was found to express well the effect of particle size on erosion while considering ten types of impact tests from the literature for different materials.