Theoretical analysis of erosion in elbows due to flows with nano- and micro-size particles

The present paper focuses on the issue of erosion due to fluid flow laden with nano- and microparticles. We investigated the case of a pipe elbow using theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. For the case when the particles were large, that is, of micrometre size, we observed the expected behaviour in which the erosion rate was greater with increasing particle diameter. The same was seen for flow velocity, and higher velocities promoted the erosion process. For small particles, however, the erosion rate increased with decreasing particle size. This was explained by the formation of secondary flows in the elbow that centrifuged the particles towards the walls. For very small particles, the erosion rate decreased again, i.e. the particle distribution towards the wall was insufficient to erode the pipe wall due to the particles low mass. [Display omitted] •The paper investigates erosion processes due to flows laden with particles•We use two approaches: theoretical analysis and numerical experiments, and focus on flows through an elbow•For particles of micro-size, the erosion rate increases: the particles are centrifuged towards walls•For smaller, the erosion rate decreases since particle kinetic energy is low