Saltwater iniection- w&terns
can- tolerate i&h& veldciaies
T he API erosional veloci-
ty limit is overly conser-
vative for saltwater. in-
jection systems constructed
from corrosion-resistant ma-
terial and containing no so-
lids in the water.
Under such conditions
and providing that pressure
drop is not of concern, a‘
flow velocity of 50 fps can be
safely used .without concern
for erosion.
&!iYc!!ti%m~,~
lected flow velocity include:
0 Pressure drop
l Noise level
l Vibration
l Erosion
l Corrosion.
Pressure drop, noise, and
vibration are well under-
stood and are part of the
design of most flow sys-
tems. Not well understood
are erosion and corrosion.
While erosion is defined
3s the removal of material
born a solid surface by the
repeated application of me-
zhanical forces, corrosion in-
volves the removal of mate-
ial by an electrochemical re-
action.
To avoid erosion, the oil
ndustry’s current practice
For sizing process piping,
HOW lines, pipelines, and
ubing is to limit flow veloci-
y to the maximum erosional
,relocity as calculated by
Mamdouh M. Salama Cunoco
Eauation 1 (see Eauation
&d Nomenclature dxes). * 2
The empirical constant C
in Equation 1 is 100 for con-
tinuous service and 125 for
intermittent service. Consid-
eration should be given to
Inc. Ponca City, Okla.
reducing these values if so-
lids production (sand) is an-
ticipated.
In the latest API RP 14E2
higher C-values of 150-200
may be used when corrosion
is controlled by inhibition or
by corrosion resistant alloys.
Based on the API RP14 E
equation, most seawater in-
jection systems limit the
flow veloaty to S-10 fps. In
many cases, this restriction
has negative cost implica-
tion. New recommendations
are proposed that show that
much higher velocities can
be tolerated safely.
The original API criterion
is specified for clean service
(noncorrosive and sand
free), and it is noted that the
C-factor shouid be reduced
if sand or corrosive condi-
tions are present. No guide-
lines, however, are provided
for these reductions.
It has been argued by sev-
eral investigators that under
these conditions the API BP
14E relation is extremely
conservative.34 Their work
led to the changes in the
1991 edition. Also, because
Df its conservatism, the API
RP 14E criterion is not fol-
lowed by most oil compa-
nies.4s
Mobil does not limit flow
velocities, and Arco uses a
C-factor of 200 for continu-
3us service.4 When corro-
sion is controlled and if sand
zan b e a v o i d e d , Arco
changes the C-factor to 250
ior intermittent service.4
Data developed by Arco
3n velocity effect of inhibit-
Oil 8 Gas Journal l July 12.1993
i
I

ed systems (with and with-
out solids) on carbon steel
and 316 stainless steel for
pipes, elbows, and chokes,
showed that for a straight
pipe section no erosion/cor-
rosion was observed for C-
factors up to 500.* For other
components, no erosionlcor-
rosion was reported for C-
factors up to 300, even with
sand.*
Phillips does not use RP
14E to determine production
rates.5
One North Sea operator
produced from a conden?ate
well at a velocity of 286 fps
(C-factor of 726) for 1,050
days without failure.6 An-
other North Sea operator
has used a C-factor of 300 as
the upper limit for several
subsea water injectors with
L&l-13 Cr tubing.6
One should not, however,
be slrrprised if corrosion fail-
ure occurs in this system at
the joints because of the sus-
ceptibility of 13 Cr to crevice
corrosion and pitting.
For N-80 steel, tests have
shown no erosion damage
after repeated impact by liq-
uid slugs at a velocity of 100
fps, which corresponds to a
C-factor of 800.’ When ero-
sion damage was observed,
it was attributed to the pres-
ence of microscopic solid
particles in the liquid.
In a seawater flow loop
containing fiber glass pipe
and pipe bends of CuNi and
stainless steel, 3-month tests
were conducted at a velocity
corresponding to C-factors
between 220 and 260 in.6
The tests showed no erosion
damage in the fiber glass,
CuNi, or stainless steel.
Also, recent single (dis-
tilled water) and two-phase
(water and nitrogen) flow-
loop test results on simulat-
ed tubular joints’ showed
July 12.1993 0 oil 4 Gas Journal
TECHNOLO6Y
Table 1
that, providing corrosion
can be suppressed, a C-fac-
tor of 450 can be used with-
out any concern for erosion.
Based on these experi-
ences, it is clear that for non-
corrosive water injection
systems where solids are not
present, providing that pres-
sure drop is not of a con-
cern, a C-factor of over 400
and a flow velocity of 50 fps
is safe.
In c&bon steel water-in-
jection systems, the velocity
limit appears to be con-
trolled more by corrosion
than erosion. This is because
the oxygen corrosion rate,
even at very low levels of
oxygen (about 20 ppb), is
finite and not zero.
The oxygen corrosion rate
is influenced by oxygen lev-
el, mass flow rate of oxygen
to the surface, and tempera-
ture. Using the estimate for
diffusional flux to surface
and both field and laborato-
ry oxygen corrosion rate
measurements, Equations 2
and 3 establish allowable C-
factors for carbon steel injec-
tion water systems.”
These two equations are
derived based on corrosion
rates due to oxygen diffu-
sion and, therefore, will pre-
dict very high allowable C-
values for very low oxygen
concentrations.
At very low oxygen levels,
an activation rather then dif-
fusion controlled corrosion
mechanism may take effect
and corrosion will occur. TO
incorporate this effect, Equa-
tions 1 and 7 should be used
for predicting allowable C-
factors up to 250.
These equations do not in-
corporate the reduction in
corrosion rate at high Ievels
of oxygen and chlorine due
-
Sdll?ltU
Mamdouh M. Salama is a
senior research jellow for
Conoco Inc.‘s exploration
and production technology
division in Pona City,
Okla. Prior to his current
position, he held seueml
management positibns wifh-
in conow’s producfion re-
search in&ding dire&r of
themarinerind materials
section and director of the
material and corrosion set-
fion. He also was chairman
of Conow’s marine fech-
nology stming wmmitfee
and mat.&& and corm-
sion fechnology steering
committee.
SaLma h&is BS and MS
degrees from universities in
Egypt, and MS and doctor-
ate degrees in mechanical en-
gineering from MIT. He is
active in ASME, SPE, ASTM,
and the American Wding
SOCiety.
to scale formation and
therefore, the predicted C
factors will be conservative
Equations 2 and 3 were
derived by assuming tha
the tolerable corrosion rat1
corresponds to a reduction
of 20% of the wall thicknes
of the pipe (t, in.) within it
life time (Y, years). This as
sumption is justified basec
on ANSYASME B31G-19s
failure prediction criterion
for corroded pipes.
Because most design en@
neers prefer to base the se
lection of the allowable ve
locity on the corrosion al
lowance (6, in.) criterioi
rather then the 20% wa
thickness criterion, th
above equations can be wril
ten as Equations 4 and 5 b
replacing t by 5 6.
In terms of flow velocit
(V, fps), Equations 4 and
can be rewritten as Equa
tions 6 and 7.
For the design conditions
of 25-year life, 20 ppb oxy-
gen concentration, no chlo-
rine, and 30” C., the allowa-
ble flow velocity depends on
the corrosion allowance of
the carbon steel component
corrosion allowance as given
in Equation 8 and Table 1.
Assuming that the corro-
sion allowance for the pipe
is the normal 0.16 in. (4
mm), the allowable flow ve-
locity is 18 fps.
1. “API RP 14E Recommended Prac-
tice for Design and Instalkion of
Offshore Production Platform
Piping Systems,” Third Edition,
1981, p. 22.
2. “API RP 14E Recommended Prac-
tice for Design and Installation of
Offshore Production Platform
Piping Systems,” Fiih Edition,
1991, p. 23.
3.Salam.x M . M . , a n d Venkatesh,
E.S., “Evaluation of API RP 14E
Erosional Velocity Liitations for
Offshore Gas Wells,” Paper No.
OTC 4485, 15th Offshore Tech-
nology Conference, Houston,
1983.
4. Deffenbaugh, D.M., and Bucking-
ham, J.C.,“A Study of the Era-
sional/Cormsional Velocity Gite-
rion for Siig Multi-Phase Flow
Lines,” Southwest Research In-
stitute Final Report, Project No.
04-2433, prepared for the Miner-
als and Management Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior,
1989.
5. Heidersbach, R.,“Veltity Limits
for Erosion-Corrosion,” Paper
No. OTC 4974, 17th Offshore
Technology Conference, 1985.
6. !Zrich.sen, H.,“Nipple, Lock and
Flow Coupling Recommenda-
tions and Subassembly De&p-
tion for North Sea Wells,” Pri-
vate communications, Conoco
Norway, Sept. 1, 1988.
7. Camach, R.A.,‘“The Design, Con-
struction, and Testing of a Liquid
Impingement Apparatus and a
Study of Metal Surfaces Eroded
by Liquid Impingement,” Master
of Science Thesis, University of
Tulsa, 1988.
8. Saetre, O.,‘Testing of Composite
Pipes in High Velocity Seawa-
ter,” 10th International Confer-
ence on Offshore Mechanics and
Arctic Engineering, 1991. pp.
577333.
9. Salama, M.M.,“Emsional Velocity
in Noncorrosive Two-Phase Flow
Systems,” Unpublished Report,
1992.
10. Salama, M.M.,“Eroiional Veloc-
ity Limits for Water Injection
Systems,” Paper No. 62, NACE
Annual Conference, New Or-
leans, 1993.