Mechanism analysis, anti-corrosion techniques and numerical modeling of corrosion in energy industry

• Main Author: Bai Hua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2020-01-01
• Series: Oil & Gas Science and Technology
• Online Access: https://ogst.ifpenergiesnouvelles.fr/articles/ogst/full_html/2020/01/ogst200032/ogst200032.html

Pipelines are the main transmission systems in energy industry thanks to its distinguished advantages on the low cost and high reliability. In order to ensure a safe and smooth pipeline operation, careful attentions must be paid to avoid structure failure and surface defect, which can both be attributed to corrosion. The past two decades has borne remarkable progress in our understanding of corrosion, with a tremendous increase in publications studying corrosion mechanisms and simulation. A review is constructed in this paper with three parts: mechanism analysis, anti-corrosion technique introduction, and numerical modeling and simulation. In mechanism, varieties of corrosions are found in engineering practice based on different electrochemical reaction conditions. The effect of temperature, pH, pressure, flow properties and steel types are reviewed and the mutual influence of these factors is presented. Short introductions to protect the pipelines from these corrosion mechanisms are attached respectively and a thorough comparison is also conducted. Advantages and shortcomings of popular coating techniques are concluded based on published studies, and special focus is paid on the idea of cathodic protection. Modeling of the electrochemical reaction process is incorporated with transportation equations to govern the direct numerical studies on pipeline corrosions. Meanwhile, empirical models have been proposed to estimate corrosion growth from both deterministic and stochastic points of view. Finite element method has been proved to be an effective approach to simulate pipeline corrosion and further integrity analysis. Suggestions on future studies on the numerical modeling and simulation of pipeline corrosion have been provided on three directions: advanced multiphase flow simulation schemes, thermodynamic analysis and the usage of big data technique and machine learning algorithm. This paper is wished to be helpful for the scholars who are interested in the numerical studies on pipeline corrosion and the engineers who are supporting pipeline operation and integrity management.