Experiment Study of High-Temperature and High-Flow Rate Naphthenic Acid Corrosion

The corrosion behaviors of 321 and 316L austenitic stainless steel in high-temperature and high-flow rate naphthenic acid medium were investigated by pipe-flow and jet-impingement method. The influence of temperature and erosion angle on naphthenic acid corrosion resistance for stainless steel was analyzed. The results indicate that the naphthenic acid corrosion rate increased with increasing temperature and velocity. At the same temperature, the corrosion rate at 90° erosion angle is greater than that at 0°. The present experimental results are very close to those in API 581. Simulation results indicate that, where the mutation of flow direction occurs around the specimen, the near-wall turbulence intensities are very large by both experimental methods. Moreover, by comparing both the simulation and experimental results, it can be found that the naphthenic acid corrosion is very severe in areas of high turbulence.