Numerical Investigation of Hammer Erosive Wear due to Particle Impact

Hammers are the key machine element of high-speed hammer mills which lead to the coal pulverisation process. Progressive material loss from the hammer occurs due to the mechanical interactions between the coal particles and the hammer surface. Coal pulveriser industries implement extensive efforts to combat against premature material loss from the hammer surface due to coal particle impact which may result in premature failure. This work investigates the erosion wear mechanism through computational simulation. A numerical model is developed using Abaqus® to simulate the solid coal particle impacting onto the hammer (target).The Abaqus/Explicit® dynamic simulation solver is used for this analysis. The interactions between the solid coal particles and the target are modelled using the Abaqus/Explicit® element deletion method. The Johnson and Cook plasticity model is employed to analyse the flow stress behaviour of ductile materials during impact. The developed stress and plastic strain are analysed through simulation on the impact surface. This model is applied to different ductile alloys to determine the best erosion wear resistance hammer material for extending the operating life of hammers in the coal pulverisation process.