Research and Development Office

Laboratory Evaluation of Field Repairable Materials and Techniques for Cavitation Damage: Phase II

Project ID: 20024
Principal Investigator: Christine Henderson
Research Topic: Repair and Maintenance
Funded Fiscal Years: 2020, 2021 and 2022
Keywords: None

Research Question

This project will investigate whether cold-spray, thermal spray, or cavitation resistant coatings offer better resistance to cavitation while offering a better, safer alternative to current stainless steel welding techniques. Pacific Northwest National laboratory (PNNL) is developing a cold-spray technique for repairing cavitation damage. Some potential advantages of cold spray are the smoother finish, less porosity, better safety and health procedures. This technique has the potential to provide a longer service life for the repairs because there are fewer nucleation sites for cavitation to start. The cold spray needs to be further tested in the laboratory because initial testing identified some potential fatigue issues with cold spray.

Need and Benefit

New cavitation resistant repair procedures are needed to provide longer lasting service life to vital structures for hydropower operations. Determining which materials or processes on the market can offer the best cavitation resistance in Reclamation service conditions is a challenging task. Reclamation's new cavitation/erosion testing methodology allows for comparable testing between different material samples that can be cataloged. The result of this methodology has already brought in new coatings partners for establishing other viable cavitation/erosion resistant material options.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

Research Products

Please contact research@usbr.gov about research products related to this project.

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