Effect of annealing temperature on slurry erosion resistance of ferritic X10CrAlSi18 steel

In the present work, the slurry erosion tests were carried out to investigate the influence of heat treatment on slurry erosion process of ferritic X10CrAlSi18 stainless steel using a slurry pot test rig. X10CrAlSi18 stainless steel was tested in as-received condition and after annealing at three different temperatures: 600 °C, 800 °C and 1000 °C. Degradation of materials due to slurry erosion depends on many factors connected with fluid flow conditions, properties of target material and erodent characteristics. In this case, factors related to the properties of the eroded material such as microstructure, grain size, work hardening, hardness played an important role. The heat treatment decreased hardness of this steel and increased erosion resistance. Microstructure was one of the most important parameters influencing the slurry erosion process of tested materials. X10CrAlSi18 stainless steel after annealing at 600 °C with fine-grained microstructure and the deepest of work hardening layer obtained the best resistance to slurry erosion. Heat treatment contributed to approximately 55%, 23% and 41% decrease in mass loss compared to steel in as-received condition. After slurry erosion tests craters, fracture, ridges and flakes were observed on the eroded surface. Furthermore, to identify the dominant mechanism of erosion, the erosion efficiency parameter was used, η. •Ferritic X10CrAlSi18 steel in as-received condition and after annealing at three different temperatures: 600 °C, 800 °C and 1000 °C was investigated.•The properties of the eroded material had a significant impact on the erosion rate.•X10CrAlSi18 steel after annealing showed better erosion resistance, although it obtained lower initial surface hardness than in the as-received condition.•Ferritic steel with a smaller grains size is characterized by higher hardness, which is consistent with the Hall-Petch relation.•The erosion efficiency parameter, η, was used to identify the dominant mechanism of erosion.