Mapping erosion-corrosion of carbon steel in oil exploration conditions: Some new approaches to characterizing mechanisms and synergies

Erosion by solid particles in oil/water slurries is a technologically important area. In such conditions, it is necessary to distinguish between the effects of the sand, aqueous environment, and the oil. Erosion–corrosion maps provide a means of identification between erosion–corrosion regimes as a function of erosion and corrosion parameters. However, there has been no work carried out to map the effects of parameters in oil/water slurries. This paper investigates the effect of erosion–corrosion on carbon steel in oil field production and maps the results. Distinctions between “synergistic” and “additive” erosion–corrosion behaviour are superimposed on the maps in the various environments.