Experimental Investigation of the Location of Maximum Erosive Wear Damage in Elbows

Erosive wear damage of elbows due to solid particle impact has been recognized as a significant problem in several fluid handling industries. Solid particle erosion is a complex phenomenon due to different parameters causing material removal from the metal surface. The particle density, size, shape, velocity, concentration, impact angle, and impacting surface material properties are some of the major parameters. Among the various factors, the particle impact velocity has the greatest influence in erosion. The particle impact velocity and impact angles depend on the fluid velocity and fluid properties. The particle to particle, particle to fluid, and particle to wall interactions increase the complexity of the erosive wear behavior. In multiphase flow, the presence of different fluids and their corresponding spatial distribution of the phases, adds another dimension to the problem. Most of the previous investigations were focused on determination of erosion in terms of mass loss of the eroding surfaces without identifying the specific location of the maximum erosive wear. During this investigation, magnitude of erosion at different location of an elbow specimen was measured to determine the location of maximum erosion. Experimental investigation of erosion in single-phase and multiphase flows was conducted at different fluid velocities. Both mass loss and thickness loss measurements were taken to characterize erosion behavior and erosion patterns in an elbow. Experimental results showed different erosion behavior and location of maximum erosion damage in single-phase and multiphase flows. The locations of maximum wear due to erosion were also different for horizontal flow compared to vertical flow.