Numerical Study of the Effect of Rib Width Angle on Elbow Erosion

Pipes are components that are widely used in various industries. Pipes are used to transfer fluids from one place to another. Erosion often occurs at the elbow pipes due to the impact of particles carried by the fluid flowing in them, especially elbow pipes. Sand particles collide with the elbow extrados at one point causing erosion. Based on computational fluid dynamic method, it was found that velocity can affect the erosion rate on the extrados side of the elbow. With a velocity variation of 10-30 m/s, the greatest erosion rate occurs at a velocity of 30 m/s. The resulting erosion is oval shape at an angle of 60° and followed by a "V "shape after. Increasing the width of the rib angle, may not necessarily reduce the erosion rate. Adding a rib with an angle width of 20° is the best choice based on consideration of total erosion at the elbow and the rib, with the maximum erosion rate reduction by 15%.