Numerical Investigation of Degradation of 316L Steel Caused by Cavitation

The degradation process of 316L stainless steel caused by cavitation was investigated by means of finite element analysis. The damage characteristics of metal specimens subjected to the cavitation bubble collapse process were recreated by simulation with a micro-jet water hammer. The simulation results were compared with the cavitation pits created in the experimental tests. In the experiment, different inlet and outlet pressures in a test chamber with a system of barricade exciters differentiated the erosion process results. Hydrodynamic cavitation caused uneven distribution of the erosion over the specimens’ surface, which has been validated by roughness measurements, enabling localisation and identification of the shape and topography of the impact pits. The erosion rate of the steel specimens was high at the beginning of the test and decreased over time, indicating the phase transformation and/or the strain-hardening of the surface layer. A numerical simulation showed that the impact of the water micro-jet with a velocity of 100 m/s exceeds the tensile strength of 316L steel, and produces an impact pit. The subsequent micro-jet impact on the same zone deepens the pit depth only to a certain extent due to elastoplastic surface hardening. The correlation between post-impact pit geometry and impact velocity was investigated.