Numerical simulation of the erosion of pipe bends considering fluid-induced stress and surface scar evolution

Abstract

Erosion–corrosion is the main cause of pipeline failures, especially in pipe bends, plugged tees, and pipe fittings with different cross sections. In this study, the erosion of a stressed pipe bend (arising from the internal high-pressure fluid) caused by particles entrained in the conveying fluid was investigated based on a numerical analysis. A numerical model based on the authors’ previous work was combined with a new erosion equation that considers the effect of the tensile load on erosion to analyze the erosion mechanism of a pipe bend under high pressure. The numerical model was verified by the erosion test of API X65 pipeline steel, and a systematic parametric study was also carried out. Moreover, a new numerical simulation method that considers the surface scar evolution of a pipe bend based on the erosion history, was proposed. This work provides an alternative means of understanding erosion behavior and predicting erosion damage of in-service, highly stressed oil and gas pipelines.