The main reason of a cavitational destruction is the mechanical action of cavitation pulses onto the material’s surface. The course
of cavitation destruction process is very complex and depends on the physicochemical and structural features of a material. A resistance
to cavitation destruction of the material increases with the increase of its mechanical strength, fatigue resistance as well as hardness.
Nevertheless, the effect of structural features on the material’s cavitational resistance has been not fully clarified. In the present paper,
the cavitation destruction of ZnAl4 as cast alloy was investigated on three laboratory stands: vibration, jet-impact and flow stands.
The destruction mechanism of ZnAl4 as cast alloy subjected to cavitational erosion using various laboratory stands is shown in the present
paper.
The paper presents the results from a study on the impact of the cooling rate in the eutectoid transition on the abrasive wear of the as cast Zn-4Al alloy. The microstructure of the researched material consists of dendrites of the η solid solution and an (α+η) eutectic structure. During the eutectoid transformation at 275oC the distribution in the eutectic structure was transformed and fined. Heat treatment was carried out for this alloy, during which three cooling mediums were used, i.e. water, air and an furnace. For the research material obtained in this way, metallographic examinations were performed using the methods of light and scanning electron microscopy, as well as hardness measurements. It was found that faster cooling rate promoted the fragmentation of structural components, which translates into higher hardness of the material. This also had effects in the tribological wear of the tested alloy. As part of the tests, an abrasive wear test was carried out on a standard T-07 tester.