Erosion in the tube entrance region of a shell and tube heat exchanger

Purpose – In oil and gas industries, the presence of sand particles in produced oil and natural gas represents a major concern because of the associated erosive wear occurring in various flow passages. Erosion in the tube entrance region of a typical shell and tube heat exchanger is numerically predicted.Design/methodology/approach – The erosion rates are obtained for different flow rates and particle sizes assuming low particle concentration. The erosion prediction is based on using a mathematical model for simulating the fluid velocity field and another model for simulating the motion of solid particles. The fluid velocity (continuous phase) model is based on the solution of the time‐averaged governing equations of 3D turbulent flow while the particle‐tracking model is based on the solution of the governing equation of each particle motion taking into consideration the viscous and gravity forces as well as the effect of particle rebound behavior.Findings – The results show that the location and number o...

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