Erosion-corrosion behavior of austenitic cast iron in an acidic slurry medium

A series of austenitic cast iron samples with different compositions were cast and a part of nickel in the samples was replaced by manganese for economic reason. Erosion-corrosion tests were conducted under 2wt% sulfuric acid and 15wt% quartz sand. The results show that the matrix of cast irons remains austenite after a portion of nickel is replaced with manganese. (Fe,Cr)₃C is a common phase in the cast irons, and nickel is the main alloying element in high-nickel cast iron; whereas, (Fe,Mn)₃C is observed with the increased manganese content in low-nickel cast iron. Under erosion-corrosion tests, the weight-loss rates of the cast irons increase with increasing time. Wear plays a more important role than corrosion in determining the weight loss. It is indicated that the processes of weight loss for the cast irons with high and low nickel contents are different. The erosion resistance of the cast iron containing 7.29wt% nickel and 6.94wt% manganese is equivalent to that of the cast iron containing 13.29wt% nickel.