A review of internal corrosion mechanism and experimental study for pipelines based on multiphase flow

Abstract

AbstractThe internal corrosion of pipelines in the petroleum industry is highly risky, and induced pipeline cracking may give rise to potential injury to personnel and environmental issues. The oil-water two-phase flow and the oil-gas-water three-phase flow are often observed in gathering and transportation pipelines. It is generally accepted that corrosion is induced by the presence of water, although it is a complex hydrodynamic process in which the material is removed from the pipeline due to physicochemical reactions. Hence, it is necessary to determine the key parameters that dominate the corrosion phenomena and how they can be modeled. As the water phase that wets the steel surface determines the initiation of corrosion, several aspects are widely discussed here, such as corrosive medium, phase inversion, water-wetting behavior, the entrainment of water, and the wettability of steel, to explain the corrosion mechanism of multiphase flow and correlation with the corrosion behavior. Of course, empirical and mechanistic models for corrosion prediction in pipelines are discussed. Also, the mostly applied techniques of identifying flow patterns and attaining related parameters in experiments for the evaluation of the corrosiveness of oil-brine mixtures are introduced. Further studies must be undertaken to expand the knowledge of corrosion and find applicable models for corrosion damage prediction and prevention.