Authors

Muchammad

Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Jl. Prof. H. Soedarto, SH, Tembalang-Semarang 50275, Indonesia

Budi Setiyana

Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Jl. Prof. H. Soedarto, SH, Tembalang-Semarang 50275, Indonesia

Galang Hardhian Prasetyo

Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Jl. Prof. H. Soedarto, SH, Tembalang-Semarang 50275, Indonesia

Abstract

Erosion due to the interaction of solid particles in fluid flow is one of the main causes of material degradation in piping systems, especially at the elbow sections where the flow direction changes. This phenomenon can reduce the reliability and service life of the pipe due to particle impacts concentrated in certain areas. This study aims to analyze the influence of variations in particle size, particle concentration, flow velocity, and elbow geometry on the erosion rate in piping systems. The method used is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation using ANSYS Fluent with a two-phase flow approach (continuous phase and discrete phase) and the Oka erosion model. The parameter variations include particle sizes of 150–350 μm, particle concentrations of 100–300 ppm, flow velocities of 5.5–7.4 m/s, and four types of elbow geometries. The simulation results show that particle size and concentration have the most significant impact on the increase in erosion rate, with erosion values increasing from 7.24 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.37 × 10⁻⁷ kg/m²s and from 1.36 × 10⁻⁷ to 4.09 × 10⁻⁷ kg/m²s. Meanwhile, the influence of flow velocity is relatively smaller within the range studied. Geometric variations show that single and multi miter bends increase the erosion rate, while reducer elbows decrease it. The maximum erosion distribution occurs at the outer radius elbow due to the particle inertia effect. The results of this study are expected to serve as a basis for optimizing the design and operation of piping systems against erosion.

Keywords

CFD pipe erosion particle size particle concentration flow velocity elbow geometry Oka erosion model

Citation of this Article

Muchammad, Budi Setiyana, & Galang Hardhian Prasetyo. (2026). CFD-DPM Based Prediction of Erosion Rate in Elbow Pipe under Seawater Flow Conditions. International Current Journal of Engineering and Science (ICJES), 5(5), 9-17. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.47001/ICJES/2026.505002

Licence Copyright (c) 2026 International Current Journal of Engineering and Science. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International Licence.

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