A NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF SOLID PARTICLE EROSION EXPERIENCED WITHIN OIL-FIELD CONTROL VALVES

Sand particles, produced in addition to petroleum fluid, present a maj or erosional hazard to transport and process control equipment within the petroleum industry. Control valves are most susceptible to erosion due to their fundamental action, experiencing failure through loss of control in a matter of days in extreme cases. This paper presents a c omputational fluid dynamics erosion model which allows erosion rates w ithin chokes to be predicted. Particle trajectories are computed throu gh the momentum exchange from the turbulent flow field, while erosion rates are predicted as a function of individual particle impact charac teristics, given material types, particle shape and size. Techniques u sed to define differing material types and the display of results as s urface plots are provided. Such a process improves our understanding o f the erosion mechanisms induced, providing erosion limitation by desi gn optimisation and material selection. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.