The effect of stacking fault energy on the cavitation erosion resistance of α-phase aluminum bronzes

The main aim of this thesis is to study the effect of the stacking fault energy (SFE) on the erosion behavior of aluminum bronzes under cavitation attack. Toward this purpose, vibratory cavitation tests were carried out on a series of single-phase aluminum bronze alloys, with aluminum content ranging from 0 to 9.38 wt.%. Both cumulative erosion curves and instantaneous rate curves were plotted from the data of weight loss. Erosion behavior indexes, such as peak erosion rate and incubation time were derived from these two plots. By correlating above erosion behavior indexes with material properties, such as SFE and Vichers hardness, the effect of SFE on cavitation erosion resistance of aluminum bronze is determined. With SEM observation in this study, the deformation mechanism and the formation of planar or wavy slip were also studied.