CFD Predictions and Experiments of Erosion of Elbows in Series in Liquid Dominated Flows

Abstract

Most previous studies of solid particle erosion in elbows considered an elbow for which the upstream length is long (L/D>100) and flow is well developed before reaching the elbow. But, in this study, experiments were conducted for two elbows in series, one in vertical upward-horizontal orientation and the second one placed after L/D = 6 in horizontal-vertical downward orientation. Erosion experiments were conducted with liquid-sand and liquid-gas-sand flow conditions in an experimental facility with two test section configurations: metallic elbows in series for erosion measurements and acrylic elbows in series for erosion pattern visualization. The experiments include erosion measurements of both metallic elbows with ultrasonic wall thickness (UT) measurements. All experiments including flow visualization of erosion pattern were conducted for both elbows for liquid dominated flows, and the results comparing the erosion ratio of the second elbow to the first elbow are presented. In addition, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have been performed and compared to the experimental erosion patterns with both erosion pattern visualization and UT measurements. The results show good agreement between experiments and CFD simulations and experimental results provide a database for improving erosion modeling in liquid dominated flows.