The Effect of the Operation of Downhole Equipment on the Processes of Corrosive Wear (by the Example Inflow Control Devices of Nozzle Type)

Abstract

Existing approaches to assessing the reliability and safe operation of downhole equipment provide for assessing only the direct impact of erosion and corrosion processes on the degradation of the material. At the same time, the influence of downhole equipment operating modes on the intensity of corrosion and erosion processes is not evaluated. The necessity of using inflow control devices is shown. The necessity of selecting inflow control devices for specific operating modes of the well is highlighted in order to avoid increased erosion wear due to increased sand production. In this article, a series of studies was conducted to assess the influence of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the fluid flow, which vary depending on the operating modes of the nozzle-type inflow control device, on corrosion processes in the well. It was shown that the level of wall shear stress (WSS) of the base pipe, immediately after the flow control device in the direction of fluid flow, affects the intensification of corrosion processes in downhole equipment. Studies of WSS on the pipe wall were carried out using a dynamic autoclave and elements of mathematical modeling. The design factors (the angle of inclination of the main hydraulic channel of the inflow control device relative to the base pipe) affecting the change in tangential stresses on the wall of the base pipe were investigated. The mechanism of corrosion wear of the base pipe was revealed.