CFD simulation of sand particle erosion in gas-dominant multiphase flow

A method for exploration of erosion in multiphase flow can be Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A key advantage of utilizing CFD is that it can deliver a great deal of information such as the effects of different parameters on erosion, maximum erosion rate, and areas susceptible to erosion damage. The current work used a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to study sand particle erosion in elbows, while the carrier fluid was multiphase flow of low, medium, and high gas flow rates. First, ANSYS MultiFluid VOF model was employed to simulate air–water multiphase flow with superficial gas velocities of 10.1, 18.3, and 27.1 m/s, while superficial liquid velocity was 0.3 m/s in all cases examined. The CFD data were validated against some experimental data previously obtained by a wire-mesh sensor. In the next step, particle tracking and erosion modeling were performed. Specifically, erosion in air–water flow with sand particles of two different sizes (150 and 300 μm) in a 76.2 mm elbow was simulated and compared with experimental data formerly obtained by an ultrasonic technique. Six different erosion equations were employed to discover which equation provides the best predictions. A good agreement was found between CFD results and the experimental data.