Usage
  • 213 views
  • 363 downloads

Dependence of Wear and Corrosion Properties on the Electron Work Function

  • Author / Creator
    Huang, Xiaochen
  • Mechanical, tribological and corrosion properties of metallic materials are of significance to their industrial applications and have been studied for long time. Efforts are continuously made to correlate these properties to more fundamental parameters in order to effectively improve the materials. Electron work function (EWF) is a fundamental property of metals which characterizes their electron behavior and can be experimentally obtained with ease. This simple but fundamental parameter reflects the difficulty of changing the electronic state, which can be related to material’s performance in wear and corrosion.
    In this study, attempts were made to establish relationships among EWF, mechanical and tribological properties and corrosion behaviors. The dependence of mettalic material’s wear resistance was also investigated via EWF. Higher EWF corresponds to higher Young’s modulus and hardness, more stable electronic state, and thus the better performance in solid-particle erosion, slurry erosion and acid-medium corrosion tests. In sliding wear and neutral-medium corrosion tests, this correlation between EWF and material’s performance was concealed due to the influence of oxdiation. Using the relationship between EWF and temperature, further erosion tests at elevated temperature made it possible to predict metallic material’s wear resistance via EWF.

  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Graduation date
    Fall 2015
  • Type of Item
    Thesis
  • Degree
    Master of Science
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/R3251FW9Z
  • License
    This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.