Current Knowledge Gaps in Understanding Corrosion/Erosion Threats, Assessment Methodologies, and Mitigation Strategies for Pipelines

This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the mechanism of erosion and corrosion, and unveiling critical factors affecting these threats, and identify the current knowledge gaps in erosion/corrosion assessment methodologies and mitigation strategies for reducing erosion/corrosion threats. The results reveal that the erosion-corrosion process in pipelines is highly intricate due to the large number of factors involved, as each of the erosion-corrosion factors identified can influence the erosion-corrosion damages. It is very difficult to predict damage rates of erosion-corrosion in field conditions. The erosion-corrosion process generally involves electrochemical and mechanical processes that interact with one another, resulting in the prevention of erosion-corrosion progression being complicated as an effective solution that should ensure that neither erosion nor corrosion occurs under normal operating circumstances. Moreover, there is presently no industry-recognized guideline document or standard for mitigating erosion-corrosion damage. API RP 14E has been widely utilized for assessing erosional velocity for decades. However, the equation by API RP 14E ignores most of the critical factors, which could provide incorrect results in most circumstances and frequently unjustifiably limits production rate or overestimates pipe diameters. Different mitigation strategies, including applying inhibitors, composite pipe materials, or utility pigging, are investigated as a comparison with recommendations.