Parametric effects on the erosion–corrosion rate and mechanism of carbon steel pipes in oil sands slurry

In this paper, the parametric effects, including the sand concentration, slurry flow velocity and impact angle, on erosion–corrosion (E–C) of X65 steel in oil sands slurry were investigated using an impingement jet loop system by weight-loss test, polarization curve measurements and surface characterization. The mechanism of the steel E–C was determined. It was found that erosion components, including pure erosion and corrosion-enhanced erosion, are the dominant contributors to E–C of the steel, while the contribution of corrosion components is slight. With the increase of the sand concentration and slurry flow velocity, the E–C rate of the steel increases. However, an increasing impact angle would decrease the E–C rate of the steel in oil sands slurry. When the potential of the steel is relatively negative, erosion is dominant, especially at high flow velocities. At positive potentials, corrosion of steel is important in E–C process, especially at low flow velocities. An E–C map is built to illustrate mechanistically the E–C process depending on the steel potential and slurry flow velocity.