CFD simulation of sand particle erosion under multiphase flow conditions

Although erosion under multiphase flow conditions can be observed frequently, due to its inherent complex nature, it has received much less attention compared to that in single phase flow. In the present study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was adopted to analyze air-water-sand flow in a Horizontal-Horizontal(H-H) standard elbow with a diameter of 76.2 mm (r/D=1.5). For this configuration, erosion was examined under slug/pseudo-slug flow regimes. The CFD model was previously assessed using experimental data obtained using an ultrasonic technique. It was noticed that the passage of slugs was intermittent and only then the particles impacted the pipe elbow at high velocities. Moreover, it was observed that in H-H elbow, maximum erosion occurred at the top of the elbow's outer wall. Qualitative results such as phase distributions, particle concentration, particle velocity and erosion pattern were used to investigate the erosion mechanism under such multiphase flow conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.