Modeling and numerical investigation of erosion rate for turbulent two-phase gas–solid flow in horizontal pipes

• Erosion rate is studied in gas–solid two phase flow.
• A new correlation is derived for prediction of the erosion in fluid–solid two phase flow in a horizontal pipe.
• Four- way numerical simulation is used to validate the correlation.
• New correlation can predict the erosion rate in gas–solid two phase flow in horizontal pipes better than available models, especially for small size particles.

A modified model for prediction of erosion rate in pipe flows is presented based on the simulation of the fluid fluctuating velocities with the Discrete Random Walk model. Turbulence modulation of gas–solid flow in a horizontal pipe is investigated numerically using a four-way coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian approach. The particle impingement angle and impact velocity are evaluated and used for predicting the erosion rate by the available and newly developed models. The gas–solid flow simulation results are validated by comparison of the model predictions with the earlier experimental data for two-phase pipe flows. A modified model for erosion was developed that accounts for the effect of particle size to simulate the wall impact velocity caused by fluid turbulence. It is demonstrated that, when compared to the previous simplified erosion models, the new model can estimate erosion rate more accurately, especially for small particles in gas–solid flows.

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