A novel high-speed waterjet erosion test rig: Development, characterization, and calibration with industry standard

A simple laboratory-scale High-Speed Waterjet Erosion Test (HSJET) rig has been developed at the University of Nottingham to evaluate the durability of aircraft coatings under flight conditions. The HSJET rig produces a high-speed jet of water through a nozzle, which impacts the target sample fixed within an enclosure, eroding the coating/material with time. The velocity of the waterjet and the distance between the nozzle and the sample vary from 101.3 ± 1.0 to 197.2 ± 2.0 m/s and 220 to 700 mm, respectively, and the test parameters are adjustable based on sample hardness. A Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) is used to characterize the jet properties, including jet velocity and particle diameters along the length and cross-section of the waterjet. The HSJET rig is calibrated against a previously established rain erosion test rig, i.e., the Pulsating Jet Erosion Test Rig (PJET) at SurfLabX in Germany by testing a standard coating sample and comparing the results from both facilities. The progression of the maximum erosion depth with time and the number of impacts is utilized to correlate the erosion behaviour between the HSJET and PJET facilities, respectively. A clear correlation is found between the results from the two facilities.