CFD-based erosion and corrosion modeling in pipelines using a high-order discontinuous Galerkin multiphase solver

We present a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based methodology for the modeling of erosion and corrosion in hydrocarbon pipes. The novelty of this work is the use of a high-order Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method (DGSEM) approximation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes/Cahn-Hilliard model for the CFD simulation. This technique permits a very detailed three dimensional representation of the flow regime, phases distribution and contact surfaces that conform the pipe, which results in accurate computations of erosion and corrosion rates and distribution over the pipeline surface. The developed methodology is validated with experiments relevant for oil and gas industry. In particular, we simulate the erosion in a one-phase ascending pipe with two elbows and the corrosion in a two-phase pipe under several flow regimes.

Automated summary

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based methodology using a high-order Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method (DGSEM) approximation was developed for the modeling of erosion and corrosion in hydrocarbon pipes. The technique allows for detailed three-dimensional representations of flow regimes, phases distribution, and contact surfaces, resulting in accurate computations of erosion and corrosion rates. The methodology was validated with experiments relevant to the oil and gas industry, showing potential applications in this field.