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The disbonding of DLC coating is a main failure mode in the high-speed cavitation condition, which shortens the service life of the bearing. This study aims to investigate influence of adhesion strength on cavitation erosion resistance of DLC coating.

Three DLC coatings with different adhesion strengths were grown on the 304 steel surfaces by using a cathodic arc plasma deposition method. Cavitation tests were performed by using a vibratory test rig to investigate the influence of adhesion strength on cavitation erosion resistance of a DLC coating. The cavitation mechanism of the substrate-coating systems was further discussed by means of surface analyses.

The results indicated that, the residual stress decreased and then increased with the increasing DLC coating thickness from 1 µm to 2.9 µm, and the lower residual stress can improve the adhesion strength of the DLC coating to the substrate. It was also concluded that, the plastic deformation as well as the fracture occurred on the DLC coating surface at the same time, owing to higher residual stress and poorer adhesion strength. However, lower residual stress and better adhesion strength could help resist the occurrence of the coating fracture.

Cavitation tests were performed by using a vibratory test rig to investigate the influence of adhesion strength on cavitation erosion resistance of the DLC coating. The plastic deformation and the fracture occurred on the DLC coating surface at the same time, owing to higher residual stress and poorer adhesion of coating. Lower residual stress and better adhesion of coating could resist the occurrence of the DLC coating fracture.

Cavitation bubbles cannot be avoided in the hydraulic system. Because of instability of flow and variation of water pressure, the jet often occurs in a bubble collapse. This study aims to accurately predict the shape, velocity and time of the resulting jet, so as to inhibit cavitation erosion.

In the study, a theoretical model of cavitation bubbles in the water has been developed by applying a periodic water film pressure into the Rayleigh–Plesset equation. A fourth-order in time Runge–Kutta scheme is used to obtain an accurate computation of the bubble dynamic characteristics. The behavior of the proposed theory is further simulated in a high-speed photography experiment by using a cavitation bubble test rig. The evolution with time of cavitation bubbles is further obtained.

A comparison with the available experimental results reveals that the bubble evolution with time has a duration of about 0.3T0, that well predicts the expanding and compressing process of cavitation bubbles. The results also show that the initial bubble radius in the water influences the moving velocity of the bubble wall, whereas the perturbation frequency of the water pressure has less effect on the velocity of the bubble wall.

A theoretical model well predicts dynamic characteristics of cavitation bubbles. The bubble evolution with time has a duration of about 0.3T0, Initial bubble radius influences the velocity of bubble wall. Perturbation frequency has less effect on the velocity of bubble wall.