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Numerical Exploration of a Comprehensive Mechanistic CO2 Corrosion Model Part II: Influence of Hydrodynamics and Bulk pH

It is well known that the hydrodynamics of fluid flow directly influences the corrosion process, as shown
in various experiments utilizing rotating electrodes and flow loops to measure corrosion within
turbulent flow. However, when fluid is flowing through a pipe, there is a phenomenon known as the ‘noslip
condition’ which causes the velocity of the fluid to tend to zero as it reaches the wall. For straight
pipe flow, this follows the ‘universal law of the wall’ (Figure 1) which separates flow into 3 domains: fully
turbulent flow, the buffer layer, and the viscous sublayer (also known as the boundary layer) which is the
being modelled here.

Product Number: 51323-19305-SG
Author: Michael Jones, Gregory de Boer, Richard Woollam, Joshua Owen and Richard Barker
Publication Date: 2023
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In part two of this two-part series, we further explore the comprehensive mechanistic CO2 corrosion model
developed in part one by examining how the changing hydrodynamics influence the system at various
bulk pHs. Parametric studies are conducted over the model over an extensive range of fluid velocities,
pipe diameters, and bulk pH values. Contour plots are produced showing the variation in key outputs,
including the boundary layer properties, corrosion rate, surface pH, and surface saturation ratio with
respect to iron carbonate (FeCO3).


Changes to the behavior of the system were found to be strongly correlated with the thickness of the
boundary layer, determined by the Reynolds number in the bulk flow and the diameter of the pipe.
Thinning of the boundary layer was found to result in greater rates of species transport through the
boundary layer, accelerating the mass-transport limited surface reactions and reducing the deviation
between the bulk and surface concentrations. Hydrodynamic influences were found to be consistent
across varying bulk pH conditions, indicating a separation of the effect of flow conditions from the fluid
chemistry. The observed trends are discussed in detail in relation to the real-world behavior of fluid flow
to improve the understanding of the connection between hydrodynamics and the corrosion process.

In part two of this two-part series, we further explore the comprehensive mechanistic CO2 corrosion model
developed in part one by examining how the changing hydrodynamics influence the system at various
bulk pHs. Parametric studies are conducted over the model over an extensive range of fluid velocities,
pipe diameters, and bulk pH values. Contour plots are produced showing the variation in key outputs,
including the boundary layer properties, corrosion rate, surface pH, and surface saturation ratio with
respect to iron carbonate (FeCO3).


Changes to the behavior of the system were found to be strongly correlated with the thickness of the
boundary layer, determined by the Reynolds number in the bulk flow and the diameter of the pipe.
Thinning of the boundary layer was found to result in greater rates of species transport through the
boundary layer, accelerating the mass-transport limited surface reactions and reducing the deviation
between the bulk and surface concentrations. Hydrodynamic influences were found to be consistent
across varying bulk pH conditions, indicating a separation of the effect of flow conditions from the fluid
chemistry. The observed trends are discussed in detail in relation to the real-world behavior of fluid flow
to improve the understanding of the connection between hydrodynamics and the corrosion process.