Investigation of Multiple Solid Particle Erosion of Al 7075-T6 and Ti-6Al-4V Alloys by Finite Element Method

In this study, the solid particle erosion of Al 7075-T6 and Ti-6Al-4V alloys, as two typical alloys in an aircraft structure, under multiple particle impact is investigated using finite element modeling. The erosive behavior of these alloys has been simulated as a micro scale impact model based on Johnson-Cook constitutive equations using the representative volume element technique. Erosive behavior is usually described by the ratio of the eroded material of the alloy surface to the mass of the eroding particles which is called the erosion rate. In this study, the results of the finite element model are validated by comparison with the results of typical erosion models. Then, the two most effective factors on erosive behavior, impacting particles’ velocity and particles’ impact angle, are to be investigated. Results show that there is an exponential relation between the particles’ velocity and the erosion rate. According to the results, maximum erosion rates of Ti-6Al-4V and Al 7075-T6 have been recorded at the impact angles of 40 and 30 degrees, respectively. It is shown that Ti-6Al-4V is more erosion-resistant than Al 7075-T6.