Experimental and computational investigation of solid particle erosion for gas-solid flows in a reducer geometry

Reducers or contraction pipes are commonly used in various piping systems that involve the transport of fluids containing solid particles. Erosion experiments are performed for a reducer with air and 75 μm and 300 μm particles. Erosion visualization tests show two high erosion zones on the reducer and downstream pipe. Measurements of thickness loss provide erosion rates of a similar magnitude for these hot zones, while maximum erosion for 300 μm particles is 1.87 times the 75 μm particles. Uncertainty estimations suggest factors of 0.6–2 for the lower and upper bounds of erosion, respectively. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations using erosion models provide the pattern and trend of the erosion as observed in the experiments, but they provide similar maximum erosion rates for both particle sizes. The computational model indicates that the dynamic deformation of the geometry due to material removal by particle impacts has insignificant effects on the maximum erosion for test conditions under 250 h. [Display omitted] •Erosion experiments are performed for air with 75 μm and 300 μm particles in a standard reducer.•Erosion visualizations and thickness loss measurements show hot zones on the reducer and downstream pipe.•Similar erosion rates are found for the maximum erosion on the reducer and downstream pipe.•The maximum erosion with 300 μm quartz particles is 1.87 times the 75 μm sand particles.•CFD can capture the trend and the maximum erosion for the reducer within the uncertainty of data.