Study on anti-cavitation performance of elastomer composite coatings in a salt solution

In order to study whether silica will become a weak point of cavitation of silicone coating and which of the surface roughness , elongation, elastic modulus and hardness has a greater impact on cavitation, composite coatings composed of silicate, polyurethane and silicone coating with different surface roughness, elongation, elastic modulus and hardness containing silica were prepared. The morphology, composition and performance of the composite coatings before and after cavitation were characterized by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and weight loss. The results showed that cavitation damage mainly occurs in the silicone polymer matrix rather than the silica reinforced powder. Enlarging the elongation, elastic modulus and hardness of polyurethane coating can improve the cavitation resistance of the composite coatings. The cavitation resistance of composite coatings is closely related to their surface roughness.