Effects of Pressure Fluctuation on Flow-Accelerated Corrosion in the Downstream of Orifice Nozzle

Abstract

In the piping system of power plants, pipe wall thinning caused by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC), liquid droplet impingement (LDI) erosion, and cavitation Erosion (C/E), is a very serious problem because it leads to serious damage and eventual destruction of the piping system [1]-[6]. In this study, pipe wall thinning caused by FAC in the downstream of an orifice nozzle (flow meter) was examined. Experimental Analyses were performed to clarify the characteristics of FAC, its generation mechanism, and the prediction of the thinning and reduction of the pipe wall. The corrosion pattern on the pipe wall was also examined through an experimental simulation. This simulation clarified that the occurrence of thinning mainly depend on the amount of pressure fluctuation p' on the pipe wall. It was also found that the wall thinning rate can be estimated using p' and that the suppression of p' can be realized by replacing the orifice nozzle with a tapered one having an angle to the upstream.

Keywords

• flow accelerated corrosion
• pipe wall thinning
• orifice flowmeter
• pressure fluctuation
• pressure drop