Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279

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Wear
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wear

Wear mechanisms of epoxy-based composite coatings submitted to cavitation

C.E. Correa a,b,∗ , G.L. García a , A.N. García a , W. Bejarano c , A.A. Guzmán c , A. Toro a
a
Tribology and Surfaces Group, National University of Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
b
Galilei Group, Metropolitan Institute of Technology, Medellín, Colombia
c
R&D Department, Compañía Global de Pinturas S.A., Rionegro, Colombia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Many hydraulic components are exposed to severe conditions such as high speed slurry and cavitation
Received 16 September 2010 erosion, where the mechanical properties of the material in which they are manufactured, as well as
Received in revised form 13 January 2011 the hydrodynamic profile of the components are crucial factors. These conditions are responsible for
Accepted 13 January 2011
high maintenance and stoppage costs and seriously affect the reliability of power generation. In this
work, coatings based on epoxy resins were applied onto stainless and plain carbon steel plates and their
suitability to protect against cavitation erosion was evaluated. The cavitation erosion resistance was
Keywords:
measured according to ASTM G32 standard in an ultrasonic cavitometer with an indirect-type sample
Coatings
Cavitation resistance
positioning setup. The analysis of the microstructure and the worn surfaces of the samples showed that
Wear protection pores, matrix–reinforcement interfaces and cracks acted as nucleation sites for cavitation. The coatings
Epoxy resin presented good cavitation resistance based on incubation time measurements, but those that lasted
longer showed 2 acceleration periods instead of the ordinary S-shaped time-variation curve typical of
many metallic materials, which was mainly attributed to adhesion problems.
© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Hydraulic turbines are submitted to severe conditions including
cavitation and high speed slurry erosion, which lead to low effi-
ciency of generation and high maintenance costs. Several authors
[1–4] have studied the use of ceramic, composite and polymeric
coatings in order to protect turbines from wear and good results
have been obtained against slurry erosion. However, under cav-
itation conditions the response of most coatings has not been
satisfactory, mainly as a consequence of substrate-coating adher-
ence issues and also because the microstructural defects of the
coatings have strong influence on the initiation of cavitation pits
[3]. Despite these drawbacks, the study and development of new
polymeric coatings suitable for protection of turbines and other
hydraulic machinery against cavitation is justified by a number of
technological advantages including easy application, no heat input
required and the possibility of use in power plants in remote areas
at relatively low costs.
Several studies have been performed to assess the tribological
performance of polymeric coatings. Das [5] found that paintings
composed of diverse resins and fillers were effective to protect
hydraulic turbines against erosion caused by highly concentrated
∗ Corresponding author at: Tribology and Surfaces Group, National University of
Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
E-mail address: acuarium5@gmail.com (C.E. Correa).
slurries. Shao et al. [6] filled epoxy resins with TiO2 and SiO2 parti-
cles and reported improvements in mechanical properties, as well
as reduction of sliding wear resistance and friction coefficient. Qiu
Long et al. [7] addedAl2 O3 particles to the epoxy resins, while Chen
et al. [8] used nanosized SiO2 and obtained similar results to those
reported by Shao with micrometric particles.
Following a somehow different approach, Bagheri and Pearson
[9–11] added hollow plastic microspheres and rubber to resins and
gave special attention not only to the amount of fillers in the coating
but also to the average inter-particle distance. They found that the
addition of modifiers significantly increased the fracture toughness
of the paintings, especially in the range between 0% and 10% volume
fraction of modifiers, although a reduction in yield stress was also
observed.
Though many results found in literature are promising regarding
tribological applications of polymeric coatings, most of the experi-
ments have been performed under conditions where the material is
tested at low strain rates when compared to those typically found in
cavitation of hydraulic components. For instance, Rao [12] submit-
ted epoxy resins to cavitation erosion in tap water using a rotating
test rig at several rotating disk speeds and found that the main fail-
ure mechanism was brittle fracture. Zhang et al. [13] used slurry
to simulate the combined action of cavitation and silt erosion and
studied the effect of the addition of fillers to different resins, being
the polyurethane-based coatings those with the best resistance to
the combined wear mechanisms while the epoxy resins reinforced
with corundum particles had the best silt abrasion resistance. On

0043-1648/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wear.2011.01.088
 C.E. Correa et al. / Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279 2275

Table 1
Identification of the samples used in the study.

Sample Substrate Application Fillers Porosity (%)

method

ED109-1 13-4 stainless steela Immersion TiO2 c 10.51

Magnesium silicated
ED109-2 Plain carbon steel Brush TiO2 c 1.11
Magnesium silicated
ED109-3 13-1 stainless steelb Brush TiO2 c 2.18
Magnesium silicated
ED109-4 13-1 stainless steel Brush TiO2 c 2.22
ED109-5 13-1 stainless steel Brush None 2.09
PUR-HS 13-4 stainless steel Brush TiO2 c 7.65
Magnesium silicated
PUAD/127 13-4 stainless steel Brush TiO2 c 1.80
Magnesium silicated
a
ASTM A743 grade CA6NM stainless steel.
b
ASTM A743 grade CA15 M stainless steel.
c
Average particle size of TiO2 fillers was 0.32 ␮m.
d
Magnesium silicate exhibited a bimodal distribution of particle size, with mean values of 10 ␮m and 38 ␮m.

the other hand, He and Hammitt [14] compared the differences

in severity between venturi and vibratory cavitation systems and
found that cavitation intensity was on average 10–20 times supe-
rior in the vibratory apparatus. Such a difference was primarily
endorsed to variations in the size of the bubbles and the collapsing
pressures.
In this work, some correlations between the microstructure
of epoxy-based coatings and the wear mechanisms acting on the
surfaces submitted to cavitation are discussed. Additionally, incu-
bation period measured after vibratory cavitation tests is used as
the main parameter to assess the cavitation resistance of the coat-
ings.

2. Experimental
Fig. 1. (a) Sample holder and sample positioning and (b) Schematic positioning of
the sample in front of the vibrating horn.
2.1. Materials

The paintings used in this study were epoxy resins filled with
titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) and magnesium silicate (56% SiO2 + 26%
MgO + 8% Fe2 O3 + 4% Al2 O3 + CaO balance) particles. Three layers
of the coatings were applied onto either plain carbon or stain-
less steel plates and three layers of an epoxy fenolic primer were
used in all cases in order to enhance the adherence between the
substrate and the paintings. All the coatings were applied manu-
ally with brush except for the sample ED109-1 which was applied
by immersion. In early stages of the present research, commer-
cial polyurethane and polyurea resins were studied together with
the epoxy resins for comparison purposes. The samples studied are
listed in Table 1, where the average porosity determined by digital
processing of images taken from transversal sections of the samples
is also shown.
After the initial washing process, the specimens were mounted
in a sample holder (Fig. 1a) and placed 500 ␮m apart from the
tip of the vibratory horn of a TELSONIC ULTRASONICS DG-2000-
2 vibratory cavitometer operating at a frequency of 20 kHz and
peak–to-peak amplitude of 50 ␮m. Deionized water with maxi-
mum electrical conductivity of 3 ␮S m−1 kept at 25 ◦ C was used
and the mass loss of the samples was periodically measured during
the tests. A schematic picture of the cavitation setup is shown in
Fig. 1b.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructure

Fig. 2 shows the typical size and distribution of pores in the

2.2. Microstructure and wear mechanisms
The microstructure and worn surface of the samples were stud-
ied by using optical stereomicroscope NIKON SMZ1500, optical
microscope NIKON ECLIPSE LV 100 and scanning electron micro-
scope JEOL JSM-5910LV.
2.3. Cavitation erosion tests
The cavitation erosion tests were performed according to ASTM
G32-03 standard. The samples were washed with distilled water
in an ultrasonic vibratory bath for about 5 min, dried in cold air for
another 5 min and then weighted in a balance with an accuracy of
0.01 mg. This procedure was repeated 3 times for each sample.
coatings and the average porosity values can be found in Table 1.
Generally speaking, porosity was reduced to around 2% by opti-
mizing the application procedure, being the samples ED109-2 to
ED109-5, where application was done manually by brush, those
with lower porosity. In sample ED109-1 the number and size of
pores were well above the average of the rest of the specimens,
mainly as a consequence of the presence of air bubbles trapped
into the liquid resin prior the cure. In all samples, the loss of rein-
forcements also contributed to the increase in porosity.
Regarding the adherence of the paintings to the stainless steel
substrates, it can be said that the wettability of the epoxy phenolic
resin used as primer of the coating system was poor due to the low
free surface energy of the stainless steel (35.2 dines/cm), which is
related to the inherent passivation of the metal in aqueous envi-
2276 C.E. Correa et al. / Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279

Fig. 2. Porosity in the coatings. (a) Sample ED109-1, (b) sample ED109-2, (c) sample ED109-3, and (d) sample ED109-4.

ronments given that the formation of a passive layer prevents the

primer from finding active places on the surface.
Besides the lack of adherence at the substrate-primer interface
there are also wettability issues between the reinforcements and
the resin. This caused the reinforcements to be easily removed
from the coating during the cavitation tests, while the mass loss
significantly increased. Fig. 3a shows indications of discontinu-
ity of the magnesium silicate-epoxy resin interface, while Fig. 3b
presents evidences of detachment of reinforcements after the
cavitation tests. Fig. 4 shows the microstructural defects caused
by detachment ofTiO2 particles, which increases the porosity of
the coating. Fig. 5 shows the presence of large cracks in the
coatings, which may have been produced during preparation of
the samples where the stresses involved in cutting and grind-
ing added to the internal stresses originated during the curing
process.
Fig. 4. Pores caused by the loss of TiO2 particles. Sample ED109-4.
3.2. Cavitation erosion resistance
results are opposite to those previously reported by Zhang et al.
Fig. 6 summarizes the cavitation response of polyurethane, [13] is mainly attributed to the differences in cavitation conditions
polyurea and a representative epoxy resin, where the superior imposed by a vibratory apparatus when compared to those caused
behavior of the latter can be clearly seen. The fact that these in a rotating disk test rig.

Fig. 3. (a) Evidences of lack of adhesion between the reinforcements and the resin. (b) Evidences of reinforcements detachment. ED109-3 sample.
 C.E. Correa et al. / Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279
Fig. 5. Brittle cracks in the transversal section of the samples. (a) Sample ED109-3 and (b) sample ED109-4.
Fig. 6. Cumulative mass loss as a function of testing time for representative epoxy,
polyurethane and polyurea resins.
Fig. 7. Cumulative mass loss of the samples studied.
The wear behavior of the epoxy resin samples tested is shown in
Fig. 7. The best cavitation resistance based on incubation time was
observed in the non- filled samples (ED109-5) and in those contain-
ing TiO2 particles only (ED109-4) (see Fig. 8). On the other hand, the
samples containing magnesium silicate particles had greater mass
losses and no incubation period whatsoever. In particular, highly
porous ED109-1 sample showed the worst behavior of the batch
because the pores acted as cracks nucleation sites.
With respect to the behavior of the coatings after the incuba-
tion period, the sample filled only with TiO2 particles (ED109-4)
had lower erosion rate than the non-filled one (ED109-5), while all
2277
Fig. 8. Incubation time of the studied samples.
Fig. 9. Signs of detachment of magnesium silicate particles in sample ED109-3.
the samples containing magnesium silicate particles showed a very
poor response. This can be initially attributed to the small stress-
concentration factor introduced by sub-micrometric spherical TiO2
particles in the microstructure, as opposite to the significant
increase in local stresses caused by the sharp edges of much larger
magnesium silicate particles. Nevertheless, the steep increase in
erosion rate of samples ED109-4 and ED109-5 in Fig. 7 was not
used in this study to compare the cavitation resistance of the sam-
ples since the periodical observation of the worn surfaces revealed
that such increase was coincident with significant detachment of
the coatings from the surface (see Fig. 9). In consequence, the slope
changes in cumulative mass loss curves do not correlate solely with
the cavitation resistance of the coatings but also with the adhesive-
cohesive strength of the substrate-primer-painting system.
2278 C.E. Correa et al. / Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279

Fig. 10. Pitting and crazing evidences in epoxy resin. (a) Sample ED109-1 and (b) sample ED109-4.

Fig. 11. Evidences of detachment of reinforcements from the polymeric matrix.

Sample ED109-3.
Fig. 12. Evidences of the role of pores as nucleation sites for crack’s formation.
Sample ED109-4.

Fig. 13. Plastic deformation and brittle fracture evidences in samples ED109-4 (a and b) and ED109-5 (c and d).
 C.E. Correa et al. / Wear 271 (2011) 2274–2279
The incubation time was calculated following ASTM G32 stan-
dard as the intercept on the testing time axis of a straight
line extension of the maximum-slope portion of the cumulative
erosion-time curve. According to this method, incubation times for
ED109-4 and ED109-5 samples were over 30 min as shown in Fig. 8.
This is about 1/4 of the incubation time typically found in similar
tests in stainless steels used for manufacturing hydraulic turbines
[2], so the coating properties are promising for use as protection
in hydraulic equipment submitted to cavitation, but further devel-
opments are needed in order to obtain technologically competitive
coatings.
3.3. Wear mechanisms
Mass removal in the epoxy samples proceeded partially by
mechanisms linked to plastic deformation such as crazing and
delamination in the early stages of cavitation, which are evidenced
in Fig. 10. Similar results have been previously observed by other
authors such as Ward and Sweeney [15]. Also, formation and
growth of pits and brittle fracture are responsible for major changes
in surface topography, similar to what is observed in many other
materials submitted to cavitation [2,12].
In Fig. 11 it can be seen the aspect of a region of the worn sur-
face of sample ED109-3 where a couple of reinforcements were
detached from the polymeric matrix due to lack of adhesion among
the particles and the resin, as discussed in Section 3.1. This mecha-
nism causes formation of preferred sites for cracks nucleation and
promotes crazing of the epoxy resin. Cracks can also initiate in pores
produced by trapped gases during the application of the paintings,
as can be seen in Fig. 12 where it is also observed that small cracks
join to form larger defects, presumably as a consequence of the
reduced fracture toughness of the coating.
Some details of the worn surface of samples ED109-4 and
ED109-5 are shown in Fig. 13, where evidences of severe plastic
deformation and crazing can be observed. Signs of brittle fracture
can also be identified and the role of pores as nucleation sites for
cracks is undoubtedly established.
4. Conclusions
Particle-free epoxy coatings showed better resistance to cavita-
tion based in the incubation time parameter in vibratory cavitation
equipment when compared to samples containing TiO2 and mag-
nesium silicate particles. In the best case, the incubation time was
around 1/4 of that measured in stainless steels commonly used for
manufacturing hydraulic components.
2279
Porosity of the coatings was found to play a major role in cavi-
tation resistance since cracks nucleation and crazing are extremely
sensitive to this kind of heterogeneities in the coatings.
Lack of adherence between the reinforcements and the epoxy
resin was also responsible for significant losses of cavitation resis-
tance since the detachment of the particles created preferential
sites for mass removal from the surface.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank PINTUCO S.A. and EMPRESAS
PUBLICAS DE MEDELLIN for technical support. All the paintings for
this investigation were provided by PINTUCO S.A.
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