Versatile erosion wear testing with the high speed slurry-pot

The high speed slurry-pot tester was developed for application oriented erosion wear testing of materials used in mineral handling and processing. It enables tests in demanding high stress abrasive and erosive environments simulating wear, for example in slurry pumps, tanks and pipes, mineral crushing and grinding, loader buckets, dredging, and drilling. The key design features of the test method are the possibility to use up to 10 millimeter sized particles and sample speeds up to 20 m/s in conditions ranging from wet slurry environments to dry sand or gravel.

The tester has been used to test many different material types, including conventional steels, surface treated steels, cast irons, thick and thin coatings, ceramics, hybrid materials, polymers and elastomers. With the high speed slurry-pot tester, samples of various types and sizes can be tested.

In the FIMECC BSA/P2/SP3 project, the focus is in the testing of materials intended for demanding wear related applications. Moreover, the test system is further developed for various wear conditions, including slurry-erosion, grinding abrasion, and sub-zero temperatures.