Numerical analysis of particle erosion in the rectifying plate system during shale gas extraction

Erosion caused by sand particles in the pipe system is a major concern in the shale gas industry. In the rectifying plate system, the fluid with high Reynolds number is assumed to be the fully turbulent flow. To investigate particle erosion under the complex flow in the rectifying plate system, various erosion simulations are conducted in this study. Because the gas velocity, sand input, particles size, and particles shape can affect the erosion in rectifying system, the effect of gas velocities (5-30 m/s), sand inputs (50-400 kg/d), and particle parameters (various particle sizes and various particle shapes) on erosion is simulated. Moreover, the erosion experiment conducted in Tulsa University is used to verify the accuracy of simulation model. Through the calculation and analysis, it is obtained that different gas velocities will change the position where the max erosion rate appears. Various sand inputs lead to different max erosion rates. In addition, the effect of sand input on the distribution of erosion scars on rectifying plate is more obvious than that of on elbows. Finally, the effect of size and shape of particles on erosion is investigated. It is found that with the increase in particle diameter, the shape of erosion scar on elbow 1 changes gradually from an ellipse to the V-shape.