Erosion Investigation of Elbows in Series – Gas Dominated Flows

Solid particle erosion is one of the main concerns in the oil and gas industry since it can damage different components of equipment which in turn, causes costly failures. Among the most vulnerable parts to solid particle erosion, elbows are of great importance since they are used in pipelines frequently. E/CRC Has a lot of accomplishments to model and predict erosion magnitude and pattern in elbows in many operational conditions. But in all the studies found in the literature sufficient length of pipe has been considered to be assured the flow is fully developed while in many situations such as elbows in series, the elbows are eroded with undeveloped flows. Turbulence properties and particle concentrations at the outlet of the first elbow are completely different from those in the inlet due to changes in flow direction and wall impingement. Since these parameters have a significant influence on erosion, different magnitude and pattern of erosion can be expected in the second elbow that is installed after the first elbow. Hence this study aims to investigate the erosion in the second elbow in successive elbows.