Oil valve erosion

The customer

• Size: Large enterprise
• Sector: Oil and gas
• Country: United Kingdom

The Project

• Size: 50-65 man-hours
• Duration: 1-2 weeks

The Problem

• Unknown erosion effect on wall thickness
• Investigation of different sand particles distribution in the fluid

Proposed solution

• Model the sand particles movement in the fluid for a given flow rate
• Count number and energy of particle impacts on valve walls

The simulations

• Fluid simulation for valve's operational conditions (CFD analysis)
• Particle movement distribution in the fluid and expected impacts on the walls (CFD analysis)
• CFD Results extrapolation to investigate the erosion wear in mm/year

Project overall results

• Erosion hotspots located and expected useful life learned. Redesign recommended.
• Savings over £23,500 for the customer in prototyping and testing (estimate)
• Savings of more than 18 weeks in development time (estimate)