Prediction of erosion defects and buckling pressure of pipe bend based on bidirectional fluid-structure interaction method

In this study, a bidirectional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method was proposed based on dynamic mesh technology to calculate the erosion defects of pipe bends under high pressure. In calculating the erosion rate of pipe bends, a stress erosion model was adopted, and the displacement and stress of the inner wall of pipe bend under high external pressure were considered. The influence of different parameters on the calculation results of erosion depth was discussed, and the buckling pressure and collapse mode of pipe bend under the erosion defect of liquid-solid flow were also studied. The proposed method can be used for predicting pipeline erosion defects under high pressure and evaluating the remaining limit load of pipelines with such erosion defects. •A bidirectional fluid structure interaction method was proposed to calculate the erosion of pipe bend under high pressure.•The deformation and stress of pipe bend under high pressure were considered in the fluid domain calculation.•A displacement field transfer method was proposed to update the solid mesh automatically based on erosion results.•The influence of erosion defects on pipe bend buckling was analyzed on the basis of erosion analysis.