Evaluating Polymer Based Materials Pipeline for Large Solids Particles Applications

摘要

Assessment was performed on the use of polymer-based materials or liners for large solids particle slurry applications. The study was conducted in a pilot-scale horizontal slurry flow loop using two different solids: sand and rocks. Each of the respective slurries from these particles contains some amount of the other. For sand slurries, sand-to-rock ratio was about 3.6 whereas for rock slurry has 0.1. The sand had median size, d_(50) of 0.240 mm (0.009 inches) and the rocks size was -52 mm (2 inches). The study was done in a 193.7 mm (7.625 inches) pipe flow loop with mixture velocity and solids concentration of 7.0 m/s (23 ft/s) and 15.2-21.9% v/v, respectively. Two polyurethane (water presoaked and unsoaked), 2 neoprene materials, 1 high density crosslinked polyethylene and carbon steel were subjected to these slurries. In general, the presence of the large solids significantly affected the wear based on mass loss percentage. Wear increases significantly from sand to rock slurries for polymeric materials whereas the converse was true for the carbon steel. In slurries where erosion rate is faster than water absorption rate, the advantage of water absorption for polyurethane should be evaluated. Although, direct comparison among polymers was not done, it was observed that each material responded differently to large solids. Neoprene performance is manufacturer specific and evaluation method or technique should be designed carefully, specifically slurry composition.