Could Cavitation Be Damaging Your Ceramic Slurry Lining?

Could Cavitation Be Damaging Your Ceramic Slurry Lining?

During a shutdown, an inspection reveals pits in a ceramic-lined slurry pipe near a pump or valve. Should the replacement use a harder ceramic? Before changing the liner grade, check whether the damage location and operating history point to a problem with the liquid flow.

How cavitation can damage a liner

Vapour bubbles can form when the local liquid pressure falls to the vapour pressure at the operating temperature. As pressure recovers downstream, the bubbles can collapse. Repeated collapse close to a wall can erode the surface. [2]

Solid particles can also damage the lining through impact and abrasion. Treat the pits as a clue. Their appearance alone cannot tell you which mechanism caused them or whether several mechanisms were involved.

Record where the pits appear

Before cleaning or removing the pipe, take an overview photograph that shows the component and flow direction. Then photograph the affected area with a scale. On a sketch, mark whether the pits begin near a pump connection, valve, reduction in bore or liner joint. Include an adjacent area that appears undamaged for comparison.

Check earlier photographs and inspection records. If the damage appeared after a change in pump speed, valve position, tank level or throughput, record when the change occurred. This gives the system engineer a specific location and operating period to investigate.

Review the pressure at the affected location

Gather the available flow, pressure, and liquid temperature records. A pressure reading from the main header may not show what happens at a partly closed valve or another local restriction. Ask the system engineer to assess the suspected location under the conditions in which the damage developed.

If the pump is suspected, ask the pump engineer to review net positive suction head, or NPSH. Compare the head available from the system with the pump’s requirement at the actual operating point, using the specified margin. [2] A satisfactory pump suction check still leaves any separate restriction in the line to be assessed.

Use the findings to specify the replacement

One laboratory study tested specific grades of alumina and sintered silicon carbide in distilled water at 25°C for up to six hours. Surface finish affected cavitation erosion in the tested specimens. [1] These results describe those materials and test conditions. They cannot predict the service life of a lined pipe carrying abrasive slurry.

For a replacement ceramic tile lined pipe, review the ceramic, finished bore, liner joints, attachment, and seals together. If a hydraulic problem remains plausible, agree on how it will be investigated and how any correction will be verified before relying on a material change.

To start a discussion with ELACERA, send a photograph of the damage and show where the pipe sits in the slurry circuit. A simple sketch is enough to begin. Operating records and drawings can follow as the review narrows.

Technical References

[1] W. M. N. Nour; U. Dulias; J. Schneider; K.-H. Zum Gahr. The effect of surface finish and cavitating liquid on the cavitation erosion of alumina and silicon carbide ceramics. Ceramics–Silikáty 51(1), 30–39. 2007.

[2] KSB. Cavitation; NPSH. KSB Centrifugal Pump Lexicon. Undated engineering references; accessed 6 November 2026.

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