Experimental Investigation under Water Condition on the Loss of Pipe Material Caused by Solid Particle Erosion in the Pipe Flow

Abstract

Wall thinning is the reduction in pipe thickness as time passes, and can strain pipes in nuclear or thermoelectric power plants. Wall thinning can be classified into three types: flow-accelerated corrosion, cavitation erosion, and solid particle erosion. This article presents a study on solid particle erosion, which frequently causes damages to power plants' pipe strains. Unlike previous studies, this study uses a mechanism to make solid particles(micro scale) in a fluid flow collide with pipe materials under water condition. Based on the velocity change of the solid particles in a fluid flow, the surface changes, the change in the amount of erosion, the erosion rate, and the variation in the hardness of carbon steel and aluminum strain pipe materials can all be determined. In addition, factor-based erosion rates are verified, and a wall-thinning relation function is suggested for the pipe materials.