Modelling of annular flow and sand erosion in bends using a thin liquid film method

Sand erosion in annular flow is a significant concern in offshore oil and gas industry. A thin liquid film method is proposed to construct annular flow and evaluate sand erosion in bends. The method analyses the liquid film and gas core separately. The direct interaction between the liquid film and gas core is studied based on the equivalent roughness of the liquid film, and the indirect interaction is presented through the entrainment and deposition of droplets. A new relation of the entrainment rate is proposed to describe the microscopic process of droplet entrainment. Sand erosion is calculated using the thin liquid film method, which considers the effects of the liquid entrainment and velocity decay of the particles passing through the liquid film. The thin liquid film method is fully verified by comparing with experimental data.

Automated summary

A thin liquid film method is proposed to evaluate sand erosion in annular flow. This method considers the direct interaction between the liquid film and gas core, as well as the entrainment and deposition of droplets. The erosion rate is calculated by considering the effects of liquid entrainment and particle velocity decay. The method is fully verified by comparing with experimental data.