Failure analysis and prediction of pipes due to the interaction between multiphase flow and structure

Frequently found in piping, erosion failures may lead to the leakage of pipes and even damage the whole system. Erosion is a form of material degradation that involves electrochemical corrosion and mechanical wear processes encountered on the surface of metal pipes. Research on the erosion–corrosion mechanism indicates that the erosion mainly results from the interactions between the pipe surface and the fluid traveling along the surface. This paper studied multiphase flow induced erosion–corrosion in pipes, mainly focusing on the interactions between the multiphase flow and the structure. In order to evaluate the erosion effects caused by the flow and the coupled dynamics, the multiphase flow regimes, flow dynamics parameters and the distribution of phases on different positions of the boundary layer in REAC pipe inner surface were analyzed. The CFD simulation results proved that the location, rate and the extent of erosion failures on the pipe surfaces can be well predicted, as compared with actual instances. Practically, this method can be used in optimizing the design of the inner sleeves of pipes.