13 Congresso Ibero-americano de Engenharia Mecnica

13 Congreso Iberoamericano de Ingeniera Mecnica

Lisboa, Portugal, 23-26 de Outubro de 2017

ADIABATIC SHEAR BANDS AS A MECHANISM OF MASS LOSS IN SURFACES OF A

DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL UNS S32205 ERODED BY IMPACTS OF ALUMINA
PARTICLES

Maria Augusta Minguta de Oliveira1, Antnio Carlos de Arajo Santos1, Antonio Marinho
Junior1

1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
email: maria.uerj@gmail.com

Abstract

Surfaces of UNS S32205 Duplex Stainless Steel were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) after erosion by impacts of alumina particles entrained in air flux, using an especially
designed setup. Morphological observations were done on craters and singularities of the eroded
surfaces. Images of craters in different stages of evolution were put in sequence; from those
presenting exclusively plastic deformation to those evidencing mass loss. This sequence matches
a well-accepted model on the behaviour of ductile metals under erosion by impact of solid particles.
Cross sectional examination of erosion craters shows evidence of plastic deformation, strain
hardening and cracks along Adiabatic Shear Bands (ASB). These bands are typically found in the
microstructure of materials under dynamic compression loads, as in ballistic impacts and in
some high-energy manufacturing processes. SEM images of morphological features allowed
the correlation of fracture cracks in craters with the presence of ASB.

Keywords: Solid Particle Erosion, Duplex Stainless Steel, Adiabatic Shear Band.
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1. Introduction
Degradation of engineering materials is a matter of
economics. Billions of dollars are expended
annually to improve design, and to prevent and
control the deleterious effects of this phenomenon
[1-3]. Friction, wear, lubrication, erosion and
corrosion are the main concerns of tribologists and
many efforts have been made, in the last decades,
to anticipate the effects of degradation in the
performance of engineering materials [4,5].
Erosion of surfaces, especially in case of impact of
hard particles entrained in moving fluids, is a
relevant issue in design, operation and
maintenance of pumps, turbines, separators, valves
and tubes, as well as in structures. This
phenomenon was object of some earlier studies [6-
8] and deserved detailed reviews [9,10].
Among other issues, the role of some variables was
pointed out. For materials of the particle and of the
target: Youngs modulus, Poissons ratio, plastic
behavior and failure behavior; for the particles:
specific gravity, size, shape, velocity and also the
impingement angle. The more a particle is dense
and hard, the greater its ability to cause erosion.
The same applies to velocity, but there is a velocity
threshold below which erosion is negligible.
Within certain limits, wear is favored by irregular
shape and by inhomogeneous size distribution of
the particles. Only very low impingement angles
can produce erosion by cutting (ploughing),
regardless the brittle or ductile behavior of the
target material. On the other hand, high angles up
to 90 can enhance erosion, but only in brittle
materials. In case of ductile metallic materials,
intermediate angles are more effective to promote
erosion, typically by mass losses related to craters
[6-11].
Craters and ploughs have been considered the keys
for explaining the mechanisms of mass loss in
metallic materials under this type of erosion. In
ductile metals, the craters play a relevant role in
elucidating the phenomenon and there is a model
based on the effects of successive impacts of single
particles, on the same point of a surface. In a first
impact, a particle can have sufficient energy to; at
least, cause a localized plastic deformation in the
target material, creating a crater. A second impact
on this crater can increase deformation on the
bottom of it, strain hardening the material and
creating side borders (lips). From the following
impact on, the target material could be submitted
to strain conditions leading to fracture along a
heavily sheared layer at the base of the lip. The
detachment of the lip characterizes the loss of
mass, i.e. erosion [9,12,13]. In most of
experimental works cited, the erosion rate of a
material, under specific conditions, was
determined using mass loss measurements along
the time. Through this procedure, it was possible to
study the role of several variables in erosion
process, although in general they did not consider
morphological and topographical aspects of the
surfaces.
Observation of these aspects, by microscopy, could
help in understanding the behavior of the target
material surface and to discuss erosion models.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), rather than
Light Optical Microscopy (LOM), offered the
possibility of observing eroded surfaces, detecting
singularities and/or the number, size and
distribution of craters, as well as their shape, depth
and texture. Thus, it was possible to observe the
morphological evolution of craters along the
erosion process, as well as other aspects such as
details of microstructural changes[14-17].
Degradation researches on ductile metals consider
a variety of them, including traditional stainless
steels (SS), which have been studied for years,
especially on their corrosion resistance. Presently,
modern types of SS like duplex stainless steels
(DSS) are in evidence. Their applications by
industry are spreading, not only to meet
mechanical requirements but also to achieve a
better corrosion resistance. They are having
increasing applications by chemical,
petrochemical, petroleum and power generation
industries [18-21]. The use of DSS in structures,
both outdoor or subsea, suggests the need to pay
attention to their behavior under wear, as in the
case of erosion by impact of solid particles
entrained in air or water fluxes. Among others
DSS, the UNS S32205 has been extensively used.
Its satisfactory mechanical properties and good
corrosion resistance are presently well known [22].
Other aspects, like its weldability, have been
accurately examined in various studies, once
heating conditions can lead to formation of some
specific and deleterious metallurgical phases[23].
On the other hand, its behavior under erosion is an
issue to be more explored, and this encourages
efforts to get more knowledge on this material. The
present work was undertaken aiming to study
morphological remarks of the eroded surfaces of
the DSS UNS S32205, by impact of alumina
particles, which was chosen due to their
effectiveness compared to other hard particles [24].
Erosive wear was produced by attacking the
surfaces with particles entrained in air flux,
through a specifically designed low cost
installation. SEM images allowed observing, on
eroded surfaces, the consequences of particle
impacts in different conditions. In general, voids,
cracks, pits and precipitates were revealed by the
 XIII CIBEM 2017 Lisboa
images, and their possible significance and origins
were discussed. In images of craters generated in
the experiments, it was possible observing and
analyzing particular aspects related to
microstructural transformations attributed to
impact of particles. It was discussed a possible
association between the mechanisms of erosion by
impact of solid particles and the effects of dynamic
compression. Additionally, the observation of a set
of craters, in the same image, allowed seeing them
as a group where different shapes, depths and other
aspects could indicate different stages of their
evolution, according to conditions of erosive
attack. Adiabatic shear band (ASB) is a narrow
region of very large shearing that sometimes
occurs in some materials under intensive dynamic
load. The thickness may be of order of only a few
tens of micrometers, whereas the lateral extent may
be many millimeters. The presence of ASB alter
the subsequent behavior and performance of the
material. ASB commonly acts as sites for further
damage and may act either a ductile or brittle
manner [25] [26].
2. Methodology
2.1. Experimental approach
Samples of UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel
were extracted from an as received commercial hot
rolled plate, with 12.7 mm thickness, produced by
North American Stainless and supplied by
Expander [27]. The chemical composition is
[wt%][28]: 0.023%C, 1.752%Mn, 0.028%P,
0.001%S, 0.519%Si, 5.454%Ni, 22.010%Cr,
3.108%Mo, 0.178%N. The mechanical properties
of this material were certified by Sandmeyer Steel
Company [28] and is presented in Table 1.
Table 1: mechanical properties [28]
Yield stressUltimate Elongation in Hardness
0,2% tensile 50 mm HRC
stress
586MPa 784MPa 34% 19
The erodent particles were polyhedral alumina,
with variable morphology and 150 m average size
(100 mesh). Compared to other hard materials,
alumina particles with these characteristics are
more effective to erode ductile metals [24].
To achieve the erosion of the surfaces examined,
some steps were taken. First, a piece of 150 mm x
200 mm x 12.7 mm was extracted from the original
plate, by sawing. From that piece, 16 sticks of 10
mm x 5 mm x 3 mm were machined by a linear
planer. Then, from these sticks, 20 specimens of 5
mm x 5 mm x 3 mm were cut by a grinding disc
under water-cooling.
The specimens were embedded in acrylic resin, as
in metallographic procedures, with the exposed
surface (5 mm x 5 mm) corresponding to that of
the original plate. The exposed surfaces of the
specimens were grinding with SiC grit paper from
400 to 1500 grid. Then the specimens were
polished with 3.0 m, 1.0 m and 0.5 m diamond
pastes. Both grinding and polishing procedures
were performed in automated equipment, until the
specimens surface be considered satisfactory by
optical microscopy inspection.
To do the erosive attack on the specimens
surfaces, an installation consisting of a compact
sand-blasting chamber, coupled to an air
compressor, was set, see Fig. 1 (a). The internal
diameter of the nozzle was 1.2 mm. The velocity
of the particles carried by the air flux was
measured by the double disk method [29-31]. The
particles velocity depends upon the line pressure of
the air flux and therefore a calibration curve was
plotted, to set the working point of the
experiments. The line pressure was set to get an
average speed of 50 m/s, assuring that the particles
velocity was above 20 m/s, which is a velocity
threshold for erosion by impact of particles [8].
(a) (b)
Figure 1: Installation
Considering the objectives of this work, the mass
flux of the particles was not measured, but it
remained the same and stable along all the
experiments. To ensure that, in each test, the
particles feed rate was maintained constant. In each
experiment, a specimen was placed in the locker
A of the device shown in the Figure 1 (b). The
nozzle B in the same figure was positioned to
obtain an incident angle of 30. This angle was
chosen to maximize the erosive wear by impact of
solid particles in ductile metals [10,11,17,20]. The
distance from nozzle to the center of the target was
set as 20 mm, considering the exposed area
available on the specimens surface and the full
cone spray pattern of the air flux.
In sequence, the device was placed inside the
chamber and an adequate air pressure was set to
achieve a mean velocity of 50 m/s for the particles.
Then the specimens were submitted to the impacts
 XIII CIBEM 2017 Lisboa
of particles, for different times of exposure, i.e. 3 s,
5 s, 8 s, 10 s, 20 s, 60 s, 120 s and 180 s.
The eroded surfaces of the specimens were
observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy, using
a FEI Quanta 250 microscope, coupled to an image
processor.
To observe the effect of erosion in sub surfaces,
the specimens corresponding to 5 s and 20 s of
exposure were examined and manipulated by a
TESCAN LIRA 3 FIB-SEM microscope [41].
After selecting a crater of interest, a trench milling
was done along it, by FIB (Focused Ion Beam)
and a cross sectional area was exposed. For
protection, a platinum layer was deposited on the
craters surface. Repeating this procedure, two more
parallel cross sectional areas were examined, at
different depths.
2.2. Results and discussion
SEM images of the specimens surfaces polished
and after 3 seconds of erosive attack is shown in
Fig. 2. Despite the short time of exposure to the
erosive attack, it is evident the overall effects of
the erosion. In an overview, it is possible to see
many craters with different shapes, sizes, depths
and orientations.
Figure 2: SEM micrographs of (a) polished surface and (b)
after 3 s exposure to erosive attack.
There are also evidences of ploughing, pits and
remains of the original surface. These features
were expected and previously mentioned in other
studies [16, 17], but they clearly pointed out to the
amount and to the diversity of features available in
the image of a experiment with a flux of particles.
This fact could be attributed to the size distribution
of particles and to the turbulent nature of the air
flux, allowing impacts with different incident
angles, orientations and energies.
Some other images, representing the effects of
larger time expositions, allowed a more detailed
analysis of the specific features observed. Besides
the diversity of shapes and sizes of the craters, it is
possible to see spherical dark particles all over the
surface. They were observed in different situations,
as inside cavities, on deformed internal surface of a
crater, on striations and in plastic flow dimples. An
analysis of the causes of these localizations is
beyond the objectives of this work. In Fig. 3, the
image shows a massive occurrence of voids but
also their coalescence into cracks (I) and (II) and in
agglomeration as pits (III). Since the nitrogen
content in DSS is higher than in common stainless
steels, the occurrence of voids could be
consequence of nitrogen introduction during the
manufacturing process of DSS [35,36].
Figure 3: SEM micrographs after 10 s exposure. (a) In details
(I) e (II) void coalescence into cracks and in (III) void
agglomeration in pits.
As seen in the Fig. 4, the surface of the specimen
exposed to a 120 s attack of the erodent particles,
several situations can be observed at the same
time. In the selected areas of the image, enlarged
below it, the crater (I) appears to be consequence
of one single impact, and shows exclusively plastic
deformation, besides the evidence of the
polyhedral shape of the particle. The shape of
crater (II) could be consequence of at least two
impacts, with formation of side borders, or lips, as
seen in upper area, where it is also evident an
 XIII CIBEM 2017 Lisboa

incipient fracture. In the crater (III) it is seen that

part of the border was detached, meaning some
loss of mass. Probably, the previous impacts
promoted the strain hardening of the material in the
bottom of the crater and create local conditions of
stress and strain leading to fracture and material
discard. This sequence of events, related to the
morphology of craters, match the Sundararajan-
Shewmon model on erosion by solid particle
impacts in ductile metals [9, 12, 13]. Such model
contemplates also the mechanism of lips fracture,
which is based on crack formation along adiabatic
shear bands (ASB), find in dynamic compression
Figure 6: Selected crater on surface of specimen exposed to
processes [37-40]. Thus, observing crater (IV), it is
erosion by 5 s
possible to see a line of fracture surrounding it,
suggesting the mechanism of fracture previewed
by the model. This is highlighted in Fig. 5.

Figure 7: Cross sectional area of the selected crater showed in

Figure 4: SEM micrograph of polished sample after 120 s of Fig. 6.
erosive attack. Craters in different status are seeing in the
outlined area and detailed below right.

Figure 8: Deeper cross section showing a displaced chip

bounded by an ASB

Figure 9: Selected crater on surface of specimen exposed to

erosion by 20 s
Figure 5: (a) Detail IV in Figure 6. Note shear fracture at the
bottom of crater, highlighted in (b)

It was chosen a crater, as shown in Fig. 6, to obtain

the cross sectional views of in surfaces exposed to
5 s and 20 s of erosive attack. Next images, Fig. 7
to 10 show the cross sectional views.
 XIII CIBEM 2017 Lisboa
Figure 10: Detail of the region signaled by an arrow in Fig. 9.
3. Conclusion
SEM observations of eroded surfaces of a duplex
stainless steel, UNS S32205, impacted by alumina
particles in air flux, led to some conclusions,
summarized below:
Evidences of ploughs, pits and remains of the
original surface. Presence of erosion craters
differing in shapes, sizes, depths and orientations.
It was observed, simultaneously, erosion craters
which were in different stages of evolution: from
those only showing plastic deformation up to those
involving loss of mass by localized fracture in the
strain hardened material. Such findings were
attributed not only to the use of many particles, but
also to the turbulent nature of the air flux. Thus,
the experimental procedure carried out was
considered advantageous in this kind of erosion
study, compared to single particle experiments.
In the sub surfaces of some craters, it was possible
to observe cracks following the paths of Adiabatic
Shear Bands (ASB), as in ductile metals under
dynamic compression. This was identified as the
main mechanism of mass loss, i.e. erosion. An
important contribution to the formation of that
cracks, which led the material to fracture, could be
the massive presence of voids, possibly due to the
manufacturing process of this steel.
4. Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to EXPANDER for
supplying the material and to Mechanical
Technology Laboratory of FEN/UERJ for
manufacturing the erosion test device. Thanks are
also given to the Materials Characterization
Laboratory of FEN/UERJ, Quantum Electronics
Laboratory of IF/UERJ and to TESCAN, for
support in sample preparation and in SEM
micrographs. And, finally, to CAPES and FAPERJ
for MS fellowships to Antnio Carlos A. Santos
and Maria A. Minguta de Oliveira.
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