Solid particle erosion is one of the key issues affecting operational reliability and the cost of tools and equipment in the oil and gas industry. In a particular erosive environment, the extent to which erosion occurs depends on many factors, such as flow conditions, fluid properties, wall material, and particle properties. As a result, it is difficult to investigate the effects of all of these factors using experimental methods. One comprehensive alternative, however, is to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which can provide the analyst with a great deal of information about the phenomenon, such as where erosion occurs as well as its severity. Of course, when using any CFD-based erosion prediction method, care must be taken when selecting appropriate meshing practices, solution parameters, and sub-models.
Best practices and guidelines for solid particle erosion modeling using CFD are described. In addition to discussing many parameters that should be considered when using CFD to predict solid particle erosion, the effects of many of these parameters and sub-models within the CFD codes are also discussed with several examples comparing CFD results to available experimental data. This paper can serve as a first step toward developing a comprehensive guideline for the industrial modeling of erosion phenomena and to help engineers improve the accuracy of erosion wear predictions.

Erosion of piping systems is a significant issue for many operators of hydrocarbon infrastructure causing a significant loss in revenue and an increase in installations, repair and maintenance costs. Currently, the use of erosion resistant coatings, reduction of flow rates and replacement/repair are the only mitigation controls against erosion. INTECSEA has been developing a novel Erosion Control Technology (ECT) that can reduce the impact of erosion on piping via the strategic placement of custom engineered inserts into the product stream. The two phases of ECT prototype testing under real-field multiphase conditions representing gas condensate fields have been performed at the E/CRC (The University of Tulsa). The superficial gas velocity (VSG) was varied from 31 m/s to 23 m/s with the superficial liquid velocity (VSL) fixed at 0.04 m/s and the sand particles were varied from 300 μm to 75 μm. The metal loss due to erosion was monitored using a set of UT probes in two consecutive elbows spaced 11D apart oriented in a vertical-horizontal loop. The erosion tests using prototype ECT inserts have shown a significant reduction in erosion at both the gas flow conditions. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been a backbone in developing this technology and CFD results have shown good correlation with the physical tests. Discussions with leading operators for a field trial targeted for 2020 is ongoing.