Reliability Assessment of Gored Elbow in Erosive Two-Phase Flow with Sand Particles

Abstract

Erosion, a major threat to the safety and reliability of piping components, can significantly impact their integrity and functionality. This study employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to systematically investigate the erosion behavior of four elbow designs (standard 90-degree elbow, 18-degree gored elbow, 22.5-degree gored elbow, and 30-degree gored elbow) subjected to multiphase air-sand and water-sand flows. Our primary objective is to identify the optimal elbow design that effectively mitigates erosion and enhances the safety and reliability of piping systems. Our findings reveal that the 22.5-degree gored elbow exhibits significantly lower erosion rates compared to other designs, particularly in air-sand flows, making it the superior choice for reducing erosion by up to 32% compared to the standard elbow. However, the standard 90-degree elbow demonstrates greater erosion resistance in water-sand flows. This research contributes valuable insights for selecting the optimal elbow design in multiphase flow, ultimately enhancing the design and longevity of piping systems.