Cavitation erosion resistance of additively manufactured materials

Cavitation-induced wear, also known as cavitation erosion, can be found in many fluid power components, especially in water hydraulics. Cavitation erosion leads to component damage and might even cause system failure. The resistance of various materials to cavitation erosion when using conventional manufacturing processes has already been investigated in the past. In this work, the effects of additively manufactured materials on the resistance to cavitation erosion are investigated and compared to effects after conventional manufacturing. Also, the influence of the build-up direction of the additively manufactured specimens on cavitation erosion is determined. As the main indicators of cavitation erosion, mass loss and the surface structure are determined for all specimens.