Numerical simulation of predicting and reducing solid particle erosion of solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke

Chokes are one of the most important components of downhole flow-control equipment.The particle erosion mathematical model,which considers particle-particle interaction,was established and used to simulate solid particle movement as well as particle erosion characteristics of the solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke.The corresponding erosion reduction approach by setting ribs on the inner wall of the choke was advanced.This mathematical model includes three parts:the flow field simulation of the continuous carrier fluid by an Eulerian approach,the particle interaction simulation using the discrete particle hard sphere model by a Lagrangian approach and calculation of erosion rate using semi-empirical correlations.The results show that particles accumulated in a narrow region from inlet to outlet of the choke and the dominating factor affecting particle motion is the fluid drag force.As a result,the optimization of rib geometrical parameters indicates that good anti-erosion performance can be achieved by four ribs,each of them with a height(H) of 3 mm and a width(B) of 5 mm equaling the interval between ribs(L).