Slurry pipelines are critical systems used in oil sands mining operations to efficiently transport ore from the mine site to centralized extraction facilities. One of the main challenges in designing these systems is the screening and selection of optimal pipeline materials. Slurry pipelines in oil sands mining (hydro-transport and tailing lines) are subjected to aggressive abrasion and erosion-corrosion conditions resulting in relatively rapid material wear rates. For some operations the degradation of these pipelines can result in significant maintenance and replacement costs. To address this issue operators are constantly looking for new material systems which can be used to increase wear resistance and run-life of pipeline systems. Numerous lab-scale test methods exist to assess and rank the ability of materials to resist abrasive conditions but no definitive method is recognized as a standard by industry (other than costly field testing). In the first part of this paper the relative merits of a number of currently available lab-scale testing methods used to characterize material wear are critically assessed. To highlight these merits comparative tests were performed on a variety of materials including a number of polymers and carbon steel. Results show that the ranking of material performance varies with test method used and highlights the importance (and difficultly) in selecting an appropriate test method that represents actual service conditions.In the second part of this paper the development and preliminary assessment of a novel wet wheel abrasion test apparatus is showcased. The intent of this new method is to better simulate the wear mechanisms found in multiphase pipelines with dense-bed slurry flows. Preliminary tests were performed on a number of novel titanium-carbide (Ti-C) reinforced polyurethane materials with two distinct particle size ranges. Performance was evaluated by comparing results to a conventional steel alloy commonly used by the industry and an unreinforced polyurethane system. Wear mechanisms were assessed through microscopy and wear scar profile analysis. A discussion is also provided of the key benefits of this test method (including the potential for assessing the effects of dissolved oxygen and/or fluid chemistry effects) and future work required to validate this novel test system.

The objective of this study is to develop predictive wear model for dense slurry flow to narrow the gap left by extrapolation from models meant for more dilute sand conditions.

The static FEA results identified opportunities to optimize existing maintenance, inspection, and operating practices. Recommendations are made regarding inspection, repair, and operation of haul trucks based on the ambient temperature, crack depth and length.