Erosion Resistant Clad Development through Microwave Energy

Slurry erosion is always a major problem in turbine of hydro electric power plant. It mainly occurs due to the presence of sand particles in water which flows through the hydraulic turbine leads to erosion of the blade surface. In order to overcome this problem some corrective measure must be taken. Hence, it is very much essential to manufacture the turbine with steels which resist slurry erosion to a greater extent. Stainless steel of different grades such as SS-304 and AISI-420 serving excellent purpose in this concept and proved as one of the most significant materials in this case.However, cladding on the stainless steel material proves the most effective surface modification method in enhancing the slurry erosion resistance. The nickel and cobalt based clad exhibits excellent wear resistance. Hence, in the present work nickel and cobalt based clads were developed on austenitic stainless steel (SS-304) and martensitic stainless steel (AISI-420) respectively through microwave irradiation.