Physical theories of solid particle erosion and abrasive jet wear

Solid particle erosion (SPE) is a complex wear phenomenon through which repeated impacts of solid particles cause loss of material on target. Erosion wear occurs in the oil and gas industry, hydro, wind and solar energy sectors, as well as in abrasive jet machining. The impact of SPE research applied to a single issue can result in savings that exceed the GDP of a developing country. This review develops a multiphysical vision of the erosion process by assembling the theories, hypotheses and phenomena of SPE developed in wear research, manufacturing and surface engineering. Herein, the theory of dynamic hardness, tensile toughness, failure criterion, critical shear density, specific energy of erosion, cutting, fracturing and thermodynamic theories of erosion as well as the phenomena of size effect, hydrodynamic stagnation zone, ductile-brittle transition, impact-induced heating and chemical reactions, acoustic emission, luminescence and resonance phenomena during solid particle erosion are overviewed. The content of the review emphasises math and provides a critical analysis of a century-long research area revealing the physical essence and limitations of each theory. The review ends with a brief synopsis of the versatile physical aspects of SPE and abrasive jet wear and concludes on where we are in understanding erosion, unappreciated/under-used knowledge, dead ends and further research.