Review on testing facilities assisting in development of numerical models for erosion calculation in centrifugal slurry pumps

Wear continuously occurs in components of centrifugal pumps installed in thermal power plants. Various components of ash disposal systems such as a slurry pump is deteriorated due to the mechanical action of flowing media hence their life minimizes. So, the protection or maintenance of the ash disposal system becomes essential after an uncertain period. Maintenance generally increases the life span of machinery for a small time but requires additional cost and work downtime. Therefore, a necessary is there to govern the wear phenomenon by optimizing the effect of influencing parameters. In this context, this paper presents an overview of various testing facilities developed for the development of novel numerical models for erosion assessment. The literature survey presents a general introduction to various aspects of surface erosion in centrifugal pumps. This paper also covers the types of wear, mechanisms of erosion wear, and different techniques to minimize the surface erosion wear of different pump materials. This paper also comprises the literature about different erosion wear testing methods, parameters affecting erosion wear, different types of bench scale test rigs, and different thermal spraying processes. This study could be beneficial in the prediction as well as prevention of erosion in the slurry pump of an ash disposal system.