Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Experimental Study on Particle Erosion Failure of Abrupt Pipe Contraction in Hydraulic Fracturing

  • Technical Article---Peer-Reviewed
  • Published:
Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Erosion damage is one of the main factors leading to failure of pipeline in oil field, especially for sudden contraction section under solid–liquid two-phase flow in hydraulic fracturing. In this article, a laboratory experiment was carried out to analyze the effects of pipe flow velocity, particle concentration and pipe inner diameter ratio on particle erosion of the reducing wall in high-viscosity liquid. The results show that the erosion rate and erosion distribution are different not only in radial direction but also in circumferential direction of the sample. The upper part of sample always has a minimum erosion rate and erosion area. Besides, the erosion rate of reducing wall is most affected by fluid flow velocity, and the erosion area is most sensitive to the change in the diameter ratio. Meanwhile, the erosion rate of reducing wall in cross-linked fracturing fluid is mainly determined by the fluid flowing state due to the high viscosity of the liquid. In general, the increase in flow velocity and diameter ratio not only causes the expansion of erosion-affected flow region in sudden contraction section, but also leads to more particles impact the wall.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. C. Rivard, D. Lavoie, R. Lefebvre et al., An overview of Canadian shale gas production and environmental concerns. Int. J. Coal Geol. 126, 64–76 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. M. Parsi, K. Najmi, F. Najafifard et al., A comprehensive review of solid particle erosion modeling for oil and gas wells and pipelines applications. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 21, 850–873 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. J.G.A. Bitter, Study of erosion phenomenon–1,2. Wear 5–21, 169–190 (1963)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. I. Finnie, Erosion of surfaces by solid particles. Wear 3, 87–103 (1960)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. G.L. Sheldon, A. Kanhere, Investigation of impingement erosion using single particles. Wear 21, 195–208 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. I.M. Hutchings, R.E. Winter, Particle erosion of ductile metals: a mechanism of material removal. Wear 27, 121–128 (1974)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. G.P. Tilly, Two stage mechanism of ductile erosion. Wear 23, 87–96 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. A.V. Levy, Platelet mechanism of erosion of ductile metals. Wear 108, 1–21 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. I.M. Hutchings, N.H. Macmillan, D.G. Rickerby, Further studies of the oblique impact of a hard sphere against a ductile solid. Int. J. Mech. Sci. 23, 639–646 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. C. Huang, S. Chiovelli, P. Minev et al., A comprehensive phenomenological model for erosion of materials in jet flow. Powder Technol. 187, 237–279 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. J.R. Cheng, N.S. Zhang, Z. Li et al., Erosion failure of horizontal pipe reducing wall in power-law fluid containing particles via CFD–DEM coupling method. J. Fail. Anal. Prev. 16, 1071–1081 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  12. R. Malka, S. Nešić, D.A. Gulino, Erosion–corrosion and synergistic effects in disturbed liquid-particle flow. Wear 262(7–8), 791–799 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. C.Y. Wong, C. Solnordal, A. Swallow et al., Experimental and computational modelling of solid particle erosion in a pipe annular cavity. Wear 303(1–2), 109–129 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Z. Lin, H. Xu, Y. Wang et al., Experimental study of particle erosion in a cavity with a height difference between its walls. Powder Technol. 286, 378–384 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. W.S. Peng, X.W. Gao, Numerical prediction of erosion distributions and solid particle trajectories in elbows for gas–solid flow. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 30, 455–470 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. X. Chen, B.S. McLaury, S.A. Shirazi, Application and experimental validation of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based erosion prediction model in elbows and plugged tees. Comput. Fluids 33, 1251–1272 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51674199), and it was also performed by the Research Institute of Safety Evaluation and Control of Completion Test System.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Jiarui Cheng

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an, 710065, People’s Republic of China

    Yihua Dou, Jiding Zhang, Zhen Li & Zhiguo Wang

  3. Department of Petroleum Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an, 710065, People’s Republic of China

    Ningsheng Zhang

Authors
  1. Jiarui Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yihua Dou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jiding Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ningsheng Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhen Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhiguo Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiarui Cheng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, J., Dou, Y., Zhang, J. et al. Experimental Study on Particle Erosion Failure of Abrupt Pipe Contraction in Hydraulic Fracturing. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 18, 382–391 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-018-0409-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-018-0409-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation