Modeling of water film generation in up-inclined low liquid loading natural gas pipeline elbows and its implication on internal corrosion occurrence

Condensed water often accompanies natural gas in the transmission process. The water forms thin film when parameters such as temperature and pressure change. This accelerates pipeline corrosion and thins the pipeline wall. Severe corrosion can lead to pipeline rupture, endangering the pipeline safety and leading to economic losses. The distribution of a water film plays a significant role in the corrosion process, So the work of predicting the distribution of a water film and flow characteristics becomes a key priority when analyzing corrosion in a pipe elbow. In this study, Eulerian, RNG (re-normalization group) k-ε and Eulerian wall film models are employed to establish a pipe elbow model that predicts the locations of water phase accumulation. Combining with a limiting diffusion current density, we can use this model to predict the potential corrosion locations and extent. The proposed model is validated by using velocity and water film distributions and it shows substantial agreement with previous models and results in the literature. From the simulation outcomes, a water film is mainly distributed at bottom while the thickness of the water film increases significantly at the pipe elbow. At the elbow bottom the inlet gas velocity increases, this shifts the high corrosion rate zone from elbow rear to front. Corrosion at the elbow front is more serious regardless of the changes in the inlet liquid velocity, elbow angle or water holdup. Meanwhile, when the gas velocity or elbow angle is large, the water film gradually spreads from the elbow bottom to the side and top parts which are in a high corrosion rate zone and more dangerous. Therefore, weak positions where pipeline elbow corrosion failures may occur can be quickly and conveniently computed and determined by the proposed model.