Análise experimental e numérica de erosão por partículas sólidas em uma junta “T”

Abstract

Several industrial processes work with particle-laden flows. The presence of particles in pipes can cause, among other problems, accelerated wear damage on monitoring instruments and key components, increasing operation risks as well as maintenance costs. Nonetheless, modelling the erosive phenomenon is not trivial due to the large number of relevant parameters. Most of existing damage models have been calibrated for the jet impingement configuration and little is known about the prediction of erosion in more complex geometries and in conditions outside their validation range. This work aims at evaluating the applicability of such erosion models to another geometry: a square T-junction. Experimental tests were carried out in a rig that worked with a mixture of water and abrasive particles of silicon carbide (SiC). The velocity field – provided by the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique – and the erosion damage at the junction were characterized. The results were compared with numerical simulations conducted with an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The RANS method was chosen to solve the flow, employing realisable κ−ϵ and κ − ω SST turbulence models for comparative purposes. Particle trajectories were determined by force balance considering one-way coupling between phases. Erosion damage was calculated from four wear models available in the literature. The estimates for the erosive wear were promising for a specific combination of the turbulence model and the damage model. The damage model proposed by OKA e YOSHIDA (2005) applied alongside the flow solution given by the turbulence model κ−ω SST presented the smallest relative error when compared to the experimental data.