Pipeline Erosion Research Articles

Numerical Investigation of Erosion in Pipeline Bends Using CFD Simulation

Erosion in pipeline bends is a significant issue in various industrial applications, particularly in oil and gas transportation systems. This study presents a numerical investigation of erosion in pipeline bends using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. The primary focus is to predict erosion rates and identify erosion-prone areas based on different flow conditions, particle properties, and bend geometries. A multiphase flow model incorporating Eulerian-Lagrangian approaches was used to simulate the interaction between fluid and solid particles. The erosion rates were evaluated using empirical models that relate particle impact characteristics, such as velocity and angle of impingement, to material degradation. Simulations were conducted for various particle sizes, velocities, and flow rates, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of erosion patterns. Results indicate that erosion is concentrated on the outer walls of the bend, with higher particle velocities exacerbating material wear. Additionally, increasing particle size and flow velocity significantly influence the erosion rates. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into optimizing pipeline design and flow conditions to mitigate erosion, thereby extending the lifespan of pipeline systems in industrial applications.

Research on the Erosion Law and Protective Measures of L360N Steel for Surface Pipelines Used in Shale Gas Extraction.

The erosion of surface pipelines induced by proppant flowback during shale gas production is significant. The surface pipelines in a shale gas field in the Sichuan Basin experienced perforation failures after only five months of service. To investigate the erosion features of L360N, coatings, and ceramics and optimize the selection of two protective materials, a gas-solid two-phase flow jet erosion experimental device was used to explore the erosion resistance of L360N, coatings, and ceramics under different impact velocities (15 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s). An energy dispersive spectroscope, a scanning electron microscope, and a laser confocal microscope were employed to analyze erosion morphologies. With the increase in flow velocity, the erosion depth and erosion rate of L360N, coating, and ceramic increased and peaked under an impact velocity of 30 m/s. The maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of L360N were, respectively, 0.0350 mg/g and 37.5365 µm. Its primary material removal mechanism was the plowing of solid particles, and microcracks were distributed on the material surface under high flow velocities. The maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of the coating were, respectively, 0.0217 mg/g and 18.9964 µm. The detachment of matrix caused by plowing is the main material removal mechanism. The maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of ceramics were, respectively, 0.0108 mg/g and 12.4856 µm. The erosion mechanisms were micro-cutting and plowing. Under different particle impact velocities, different erosion morphologies were observed, but the primary erosion mechanism was the same. The erosion resistance of the ceramics was higher than that of the coatings. Therefore, ceramic lining materials could be used to protect the easily eroded parts, such as pipeline bends and tees, and reduce the failure rate by more than 93%. The study provided the data and theoretical basis for the theoretical study on oil and gas pipeline erosion and pipeline material selection.

Research Progress on Influencing Factors of Erosion Corrosion in Oil Pipelines

Original sentence: "Erosion corrosion is a significant factor contributing to the thinning and failure of oil pipelines. This paper addresses the issue of erosion corrosion of oil pipelines in oil fields under the action of multiphase flow, the main factors affecting the erosion corrosion are introduced, including the hydrodynamic factors, solid particle properties, fluid medium properties and temperature, It summarizes and analyzes the mechanisms through which these different factors affect the erosion corrosion of oil pipelines. The paper points out that increased fluid velocity in oil pipelines, sudden changes in flow patterns, and turbulent kinetic energy can accelerate erosion corrosion to some extent, With the increase of flow rate, erosion corrosion mechanism will change from electrochemical corrosion dominant to erosion accelerated corrosion, There is a maximum value for erosion corrosion based on the solid particle impact angle. The harder and sharper the solid particles are, the stronger their impact on the pipeline, especially the impact of low Angle impact is more significant; however, the diameter and quantity of particles can affect the development of erosion corrosion due to 'particle size effect' and 'shielding effect.' Additionally, lower pH values and higher temperatures of the fluid medium will increase pipeline erosion corrosion. Finally, future research directions for studying erosion corrosion in oilfield pipelines under multiphase flow conditions are discussed in light of existing research."

Research on Erosion Mechanism and Protection Technology of Sand Bearing Fluid Pipeline

The purpose of this study is to explore the influencing factors of sand bearing fluid on pipeline erosion and evaluate the effects of different protection technologies. Through the construction of erosion testing equipment, the influence of sand particle size, concentration and flow rate on the erosion rate was systematically studied. The results show that the increase of sand particle size and concentration and the increase of flow rate will significantly increase the erosion rate. In addition, coating protection technology and alloying technology have been proved to be effective in reducing the erosion rate, and coating protection technology shows better protection effect. It provides theoretical basis and data support for pipeline design and protection in sand bearing fluid environment.

Prediction of erosion defects and buckling pressure of pipe bend based on bidirectional fluid-structure interaction method

In this study, a bidirectional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method was proposed based on dynamic mesh technology to calculate the erosion defects of pipe bends under high pressure. In calculating the erosion rate of pipe bends, a stress erosion model was adopted, and the displacement and stress of the inner wall of pipe bend under high external pressure were considered. The influence of different parameters on the calculation results of erosion depth was discussed, and the buckling pressure and collapse mode of pipe bend under the erosion defect of liquid-solid flow were also studied. The proposed method can be used for predicting pipeline erosion defects under high pressure and evaluating the remaining limit load of pipelines with such erosion defects.

The influence of erosion manner on the buckling resistance of pipelines

This article establishes a three-dimensional deep-sea pipeline buckling model for the first time based on the simulation results of pipeline erosion. Through calculation and comparison, it was found that the critical buckling load of intact pipelines and pipelines under uniform corrosion and random pitting corrosion is different. Uniform corrosion can reduce the critical load, but random pitting corrosion can improve the buckling resistance of pipelines. This conclusion is the first discovery.

Calculation and prediction of suspended span caused by erosion of deep water submarine pipelines

Submarine pipelines can be divided into three types based on their laying status: pipelines laid flat on the seabed, pipelines without buried, and pipelines buried in shallow trenches. In addition, there is also a suspended span state caused by waves and currents erosion. The four laying states of submarine pipelines indicate that the seabed, as the foundation supporting the pipeline, must provide sufficient support to ensure the stability of the pipeline. This article studies the erosion span data of existing pipelines, evaluates and predicts the pipeline span state through theoretical calculation and analysis, and then uses numerical simulation calculation methods to predict the pipeline span depth, and compares and verifies it with measured data.

Experimental study of erosion behavior under fluctuating tensile loads

When studying the erosion behavior of fracturing pipelines, it is inevitable to consider the exacerbating effect of fluctuating internal pressure on pipeline erosion damage. Therefore, an erosion experimental apparatus capable of applying fluctuating tensile loads to specimens was developed to investigate the erosion rate of 35CrMo steel at different average tensile stresses (0–500 MPa), impact angles (15–90°), flow velocity (7.5–20 m/s), and experimental times (10–60 min), and to analyze the erosion damage mechanism under fluctuating loads by observing the microstructure within the erosion scars using scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that erosion rate increased up to 36.84% compared to that without loading under the same erosion condition. Erosion rate increased up to 822.00% when velocity increased from minimum to maximum. Under fluctuating loads, the deepest part of the erosion scar cracked first and the specimen eventually fractured completely along with its entire width, demonstrating that the newly established experimental conditions can well reproduce the sudden bursting phenomenon common to high-pressure pipelines that erode under harsh conditions. The fracture of the specimen shows laminar structure, which is a typical damage feature resulting from the combined effect of a great number of tensile stress cycles and erosion wear.

EROSION-RESISTANT NANOCOATING DERIVED FROM POLYPROPYLENE AND BAMBOO-BASED BIO NANO CARBON (PP-BNC) TO ENHANCE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF PETROLEUM PIPELINES

Oil and gas transportation efficiency is hindered by petroleum pipeline erosion where the pipelines are exposed to solid particles, viscous fluids, processing temperature and pressure, surrounding conditions and accompanied gasses. The current issue is to solve the erosion of petroleum pipelines problem by developing an erosion-resistant nanocoating. The development of erosion resistant nanocoating which is derived from polypropylene and bamboo-based bio nano carbon (PP-BNC) is the main focus of this research. PP-BNC nanocomposite were prepared by using thermal composition method to obtain the bamboo BNC or also known as carbon black, followed by coagulation method to obtain PP-BNC nanocomposites (10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, 40 wt% and 50 wt%) and lastly compression moulding method for the nanocomposite to become nanocoating thin film. During the thermal composition method, the grinded bamboo powder were combusted in tube furnace at 400°C, holding time for 30 minutes at 10°C/min rate in Nitrogen atmosphere. The solvents that were used are Toluene and Methanol during coagulation method. The structural, thermal and morphological properties of PP-BNC nanocomposites were characterised by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Whereas the mechanical properties such as tensile and abrasion resistance along with its weight loss were evaluated by tensile and abrasion resistance tests. PP with 20 wt% BNC has the best results as the weight loss and wear index are the lowest which is 0.001 g and 0.033 mg/cycles respectively, great tensile strength with the value of 20.52 MPa and able to withstand high temperature up to 163°C where the highest temperature underwater is only up to 100°C.

Gas–solid two-phase erosion of multi-elbow relief line under supercritical condition

The Eulerian–Lagrangian method was used to establish a numerical model of a multi-elbow pipeline erosion and examine the erosion of the relief line elbow under supercritical conditions. The model was used to examine the effects of the discharge volume, sand content, and shape factor of sand on multi-elbow erosion and those of the connection length on double-elbow erosion. The erosion mechanism and law of multi-elbow lines under gas–solid two-phase flow conditions were revealed. The results indicated that the most severe erosion of the elbow occurred on the impact surface. However, the erosion area of the multi-elbow was relatively long. In a multi-elbow pipeline, the maximum erosion rate of the outlet elbow was 84 times that of the inlet elbow. For the multi-elbow pipeline, the erosion rate was related to the discharge volume, sand content, particle shape, and length of the connection between elbows. The erosion rate of the elbow at the outlet decreased gradually and stabilized with an increase in the connection length.

Adsorbents for adsorption separation of CO2 and CH4: A literature review

AbstractNatural gas consisting mainly of methane is becoming increasingly prominent as a clean energy source. However, the major impurity, carbon dioxide, can adversely affect the performance of natural gas. Therefore, separating CO2 from CH4 is necessary to decrease the erosion of pipelines and increase the calorific value. This paper aimed at reviewing the performances, mechanisms, and novel developments of common adsorbents to adsorb pure CH4, pure CO2, and their mixtures. Several studies suggest that zeolites exhibit better separating performance than metal organic frameworks (MOFs) except the modified amine‐MIL group. Activated carbons may not be suitable adsorbents due to low selectivity between CO2 and CH4. The modified amine‐MIL group are the best type of adsorbent to separate CO2 from CH4 and its best operating conditions are at low pressure (<2 bar), low feed composition of CO2, and near room temperature using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) method.

3D Modelling of double elbow pipeline erosion in methane – water – sand multiphase medium

Introduction. In gas industry, predicting sand erosion damage of pipelines by sand particles is a difficult task because this process is strongly influenced by many factors. Particulate matter carried away by the multiphase product during production can seriously compromise the integrity of fluid handling structures such as pipelines and elbows.
 Materials and methods. A three-dimensional numerical modelling approach in three-phase gas – liquid – solid flows was used to analyze erosion processes in pipe elbows. A key advantage of using CFD is that it can provide a wealth of information such as the effect of various parameters on erosion, maximum erosion rate, and erosion-prone areas. A variation of the Euler method for multiphase fluids was used to simulate three-dimensional unsteady gas-water annular flows with the presence of sand particles.
 Results. The results showed that a vertical pipe with two elbows is more prone to erosion at the second elbow than atthe first elbow. However, in a horizontal pipe with two elbows, it can be concluded that the first elbow is more proneto erosion. On the other hand, erosion at L/D = 0 showed the maximum erosion rate among all the geometries studied.
 Conclusions. In a vertical pipe, the second elbow of the pipeline is more susceptible to erosion. In addition, the erosion rate at the second elbow of vertical and horizontal pipes is the same for all studied geometries. The pipeline with L/D = 10 showed the optimal layout choice for vertical and horizontal pipe with an average erosion rate of 57.9 mm/year, which representsthe lowest erosion rate among the options studied.

Effect of Mono-Dispersed Solids Slurry Characteristics on Horizontal Bends

Abstract: Erosion in multiphase flow due to the effect of solid particles is a key factor in wearing of industrial pipelines. In recent years, industries are using Computational Fluid Dynamics to study erosion wear in pipelines. Researchers have investigated various factors that affect the erosion of pipelines including particle size, velocity, coating material, fluid viscosity, region of pipe (bends/fittings convex or concave), etc. This paper investigates the effect of various slurry parameters on the rate of material erosion in the pipeline, under different sets of operation conditions. Silica sand (density= 2650 kg/m3 ) slurry was considered for the simulations, mixed in water at different volumetric concentration (12%, 24% and 36%), with an inlet velocity of 2.74 m/s and 3.56 m/s. The particle size was considered constant at 225µm, 450µm and 675µm, respectively. Simulations are done in ANSYS-FLUENT software under Eulerian two-phase model with k-ε approach. Results showed that the erosion rate followed the trend of increasing with an increase in all the above mentioned varying parameters as it varied from 8.25 mm/yr to 18.93 mm/yr. It was also hinted that as particle size reduced, the influence of velocity as a contributing parameter reduced which is explained by the fact that the mixture is leading from suspension state to colloidal state.

Optimization of calcium carbonate precipitation during alpha-amylase enzyme-induced calcite precipitation (EICP).

The sand production during oil and gas extraction poses a severe challenge to the oil and gas companies as it causes erosion of pipelines and valves, damages the pumps, and ultimately decreases production. There are several solutions implemented to contain sand production including chemical and mechanical means. In recent times, extensive work has been done in geotechnical engineering on the application of enzyme-induced calcite precipitation (EICP) techniques for consolidating and increasing the shear strength of sandy soil. In this technique, calcite is precipitated in the loose sand through enzymatic activity to provide stiffness and strength to the loose sand. In this research, we investigated the process of EICP using a new enzyme named alpha-amylase. Different parameters were investigated to get the maximum calcite precipitation. The investigated parameters include enzyme concentration, enzyme volume, calcium chloride (CaCl2) concentration, temperature, the synergistic impact of magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and CaCl2, Xanthan Gum, and solution pH. The generated precipitate characteristics were evaluated using a variety of methods, including Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed that the pH, temperature, and concentrations of salts significantly impact the precipitation. The precipitation was observed to be enzyme concentration-dependent and increase with an increase in enzyme concentration as long as a high salt concentration was available. Adding more volume of enzyme brought a slight change in precipitation% due to excessive enzymes with little or no substrate available. The optimum precipitation (87%) was yielded at 12 pH and with 2.5g/L of Xanthan Gum as a stabilizer at a temperature of 75°C. The synergistic effect of both CaCl2 and MgCl2 yielded the highest CaCO3 precipitation (32.2%) at (0.6:0.4) molar ratio. The findings of this research exhibited the significant advantages and insights of alpha-amylase enzyme in EICP, enabling further investigation of two precipitation mechanisms (calcite precipitation and dolomite precipitation).

Numerical Study of the Erosion Distribution of Sulfur-Containing Particulate Gas in 90-Degree Gathering Elbow

The phenomenon of pipeline erosion dominated by sulfur particles has become a key research target for sulfur-containing gas-gathering pipelines. Gas-solid two-phase flow of sulfur-containing gases is simulated with a coupled CFD-DPM model in this paper. The Realizable k-ε turbulence model was used to determine the changes in the complex flow field and the Euler-Lagrange method was used to describe the specific trajectory of sulfur particles in the complex flow field. The main erosion trace distribution and the effect of secondary flow effects at the elbow were analyzed and the erosion distribution pattern was investigated for different curvature ratios, particle sizes, and pipe diameters. The results show that the formation of erosion along the tip of the V-shaped erosion trace on the outlet sidewall of the elbow may be related to secondary flow effects. The increase of the curvature ratio RD reduces the erosion intensity of the maximum erosion area, but subsequent increase will result in new secondary erosion trace near the outlet of the elbow and reach the maximum when RD = 8. Variations in particle size will have a significant effect on the extent of the erosion distribution, causing the main erosion distribution of the elbow to vary between 48.2° and 84.2°, while variations in pipeline diameter will have a lesser effect. The Stokes number can also be reduced by controlling the variation in particle size and pipe diameter to alter the force profile on the particles and reduce the erosion effect.

Erosion and Corrosion of Pipelines and Equipment on the Power Uprate of Power Units at Nuclear Power Plants (NPP)

Erosion and Corrosion of Pipelines and Equipment on the Power Uprate of Power Units at Nuclear Power Plants (NPP)

Research Progress on Numerical Simulation of Heterogeneous Flow Resistance in Sludge Conveying System

Sludge pipeline transportation is increasingly used in different fields. Flow resistance is an important influencing factor in the pipeline transportation of solid-liquid two-phase flow slurry, and studying its characteristics is of great significance for optimizing pipeline design, reducing pipeline erosion and wear, and reducing transportation energy consumption. In view of the complexity of sludge as the resistance characteristics of solid-liquid two-phase flow, it is often necessary to analyze the inline mechanism of solid-liquid two-phase flow in slurry with the help of high-precision turbulent flow model in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which has become the research focus of heterogeneous solid-liquid two-phase flow pipeline transportation. This paper analyzes and summarizes the CFD simulation status of heterogeneous solid-liquid two-phase flow resistance in pipelines, points out the future research direction, and provides reference for the analysis of heterogeneous flow resistance of sludge pipeline transportation and the optimization design of conveying system.

Non-destructive technique for erosion and corrosion monitoring system

Erosion and corrosion of pipeline occurs over time and this data should be given the same care as other data in oil and gas industry. Moreover, most notification systems available send an alert only when the issue is at a late stage. Therefore, the aim of this study is to create a monitoring system that would help in minimizing the impact of erosion and corrosion of pipeline related issues. There are three objectives includes: data separation, online and offline database storage and an email notification system. This study also emphasizes the importance of incorporating a database for evaluation of oil and gas pipeline’s wall thickness data in terms of its health status. As the data obtained is essential, a web application is created to store the data whenever internet is available. Otherwise, it will be stored in a temporary offline database known as MYSQL Workbench, and the data is automatically uploaded once the internet is available. A notification system via internet is developed to notify the executives regarding unhealthy pipeline status. A healthy pipeline wall thickness is between 4.3mm and 4.5mm. Thus, data with lower than 4.3mm is noted as eroded while data greater than 4.5mm is recorded as corroded. The monitoring system designed for online and offline data storage along with email notification performed accordingly. Therefore, the developed system fulfils the objectives and help in mitigating erosion and corrosion of pipelines related issues at an earlier stage in saving lives, maintenance fees and the environment.

Parametric investigation of sand erosion rates in gas pipeline bends under typical industry conditions using simplified method

ABSTRACT The production and transport of sand from oil and gas wells into production and transport facilities results in flow assurance and structural problems. A critical operational issue is the erosion of oil and gas facilities by the suspended sand particles, particularly around flow diversions. This study investigated the effects of four key parameters, namely particle size, sand load, fluid velocity, and fluid density, on the rate of sand erosion in gas pipeline bends using DNV GL-RPO501 and Star CCM+ software package, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool developed by CD – adapco. Sand concentration and particle sizes both cause a linear increase in erosion rate. The particle sizes affected the location of maximum erosion. The single and mixture component gas densities showed an inverse linear and non-uniform relationship with erosion rate. The CFD models underpredicted erosion rates by about 90% compared to the experimental data. An exponential relation exists between the erosion rate and gas/sand velocity especially velocities above 10 m/s. The CFD method largely predicted more realistic values of erosion rate than the DNV GL-RPO501 due to some oversimplified assumptions made in the latter. The CFD tool however compared favorably with the DNV GL-RPO501 at high velocities. Both CFD and DNV GL-RPO501 models are recommended for erosion studies at higher fluid velocities, while the CFD modeling is better at lower velocities by incorporating drag and inertial forces which are important forces at low gas velocities. The particle and fluid velocity affected the sand erosion rate more than the other factors considered. However, future studies should consider modeling erosion rates under transient conditions and investigate the effects of various turbulence models. Different sand mixtures with various particle sizes and other gases such as CO2 should be considered.

Effect of pipe orientation on erosion of π-shaped pipelines

Erosion of particles in elbows mounted in series is a detriment in the course of natural gas transmission. The flow and erosion characteristics of π-shaped pipelines were investigated via coupling the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the discrete phase model (DPM) method. The effect of pipe orientation on particle erosion was mainly studied. Spiral and asymmetrical trajectories of particles were observed from the second elbow to the downstream straight pipe of the fourth elbow in the non-coplanar π-shaped pipelines. The integral erosion rate of the first elbow increased by 0.35%, and it grew by 72.49% and 87.48% in the second and fourth elbows in non-coplanar structures, respectively, while the integral erosion rate of the third elbow reduced by 32.94%. In the actual transportation of natural gas, it is necessary to make local thickening treatment of the second and fourth elbow of the non-coplanar π-shaped pipelines. • A swirling effect was discovered in non-coplanar structures. • Spiral and asymmetrical particle trajectories were generated. • Integral erosion degree of fourth elbow increased by 87.48% due to swirling effect. • The erosion rate increased exponentially with the increase of velocity.