Three-Dimensional Simulation of Erosion Life of Metal Mesh Screen Pipe Based on Fluent-DPM Method

Metal mesh screen pipe is severely damaged under the erosion of sand and gravel particles, and the erosion life of the screen is difficult to predict. To this end, a three-dimensional numerical simulation model considering the mixed structure of the outer protective cover and the inner screen of the metal mesh screen pipe was established. The hydrodynamic discrete particle flow (DPM) method was used to simulate the process of the erosion of the metal mesh by the sand and gravel particles during production, and the influence of flow velocity on the erosion rate of the metal mesh screen pipe was analyzed. The results show when the critical flow velocity for erosion damage is 1.00 m/s. When the inlet flow velocity is less than 1.00 m/s, the simulated erosion rate is comparable to the test erosion rate. When the inlet flow velocity is greater than 1.00 m/s, the simulated erosion rate is 2.1 times higher than the test one due to the influence of the overall structure of the screen pipe. The structure of the outer protective cover of the metal mesh screen pipe is the main factor affecting the overflow flow velocity through the screen. Affected by the sudden reduction of the overflow area of the protective cover, the flow velocity of the fluid passing through the first and second screen layers is much greater than the inlet velocity of the outer protective cover, resulting in erosion damage of the metal mesh. The method is used to predict the screen pipe life of eight production wells in the field, and relative error is within 10.5% compared with the actual monitoring life, which meets the requirements of practical engineering application. The study shows that the predicted erosion life of metal mesh screen pipe based on the 3D Fluent-DPM method is basically consistent with the actual situation, which provides a new method for predicting the erosion life of metal mesh screen pipe.