Modeling of the Effect of Condensed Water Film Hydrodynamics on Top-of-the-Line Corrosion (C2026-00211)
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Central
Location: 362 DE
Earn .5 PDH
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Top-of-the-line corrosion (TLC) prediction in wet gas pipelines relies on the estimation of water condensation rates (WCR) at the top surface of the pipe. WCRs are computed from the estimated cooling temperature profile along the pipe, the gas chemical composition, and the flow rate and then used to estimate the chemistry of the condensed water droplets or film and the consequent TLC rate. This approach leads to calculated TLC rates that are maximum at the inlet to the pipeline where the WCR is maximum, followed by decreasing TLC rates as WCRs decrease along the pipeline. However, available field data from several wet gas pipelines show that the top wall loss is not maximum in the first 0.2-1 kilometer of pipe, which is inconsistent with the maximum, overly conservative TLC rates predicted by established methods in those areas. Thus, current TLC modeling can lead to significant misjudgment of the performance of carbon steel in design studies. This work introduces a novel modeling approach that estimates the hydrodynamics and mass transfer characteristics of the condensed water film and their effect on the predicted water chemistry and TLC rates. The new model can reproduce field behavior and reduces conservatism in TLC prediction.
