Erosion wear in slurry pumps and pipes

• Published in: Powder technology 1987, Vol.50 (1), p.35-46
• Main Authors: Roco, M.C., Addie, G.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Pump and compressors (turbocompressors, fans, etc.)
• ISSN: 0032-5910; 1873-328X
• DOI: 10.1016/0032-5910(87)80081-5

Erosion wear is an important factor in the design and operation of the equipment handling slurries. This paper outlines an energy approach to determine the erosion wear from the solids velocity and concentration distributions in the vicinity of the exposed walls. The worn material is assumed to be removed by one of the following mechanisms: directional impact, random collisions and Coulombic friction. Mechanistic and stochastic models provide the description of the wear mechanisms at the particle scale. The correlation between the energy dissipated by particle — wall mechanical interaction and erosion wear rate is verified on small-scale devices, which simulate each wear mechanism separately. A complex hydraulic loop system was built in laboratory to systematically test the approach (maximum pump power = 1500 kW, maximum flowrate = 10 4 m 3 /h, pipe diameters = 75 – 760 mm). Finite volume and finite element methods are used to numerically simulate the two-phase flow in pipes and pump components, with some simplifying assumptions. Experimental and computational results on fine particle (d ⩽ 0.5 mm) slurry wear in straight pipes and centrifugal pump casings are presented. The approach was applied to predict the wear distribution and operation life of sand slurry pipes, as well as dredging and ore-handling pumps.