Drag reduction effectiveness of dilute and entangled xanthan in turbulent pipe flow

The ability to reduce the frictional drag in turbulent flow in pipes and channels by addition of a small amount of a high molecular weight polymer has application in myriad industries and processes. Here, the drag reduction properties of the polyelectrolyte xanthan are explored in differing solvent environments (salt free versus salt solution) and delivery configurations (homogeneous versus stock solution dilution). Drag reduction effectiveness increases when an entangled xanthan solution is diluted compared to solutions prepared in the dilute regime. Based on dynamic rheological measurements of the elastic modulus, residual entanglements and network structure are hypothesized to account for the observed change in drag reduction effectiveness. Drag reduction effectiveness is unchanged by the presence of salt when the stock solution concentration is sufficiently above the critical concentration c_D. Finally, the drag reduction effectiveness decreases with time when diluted from an entangled stock solution but remains greater than the homogeneous case after more than 24 h.     

Drag reduction change of polyethyleneoxide solutions in pipe flow

Change of drag reduction (DR) along a tube (D=2 mm, L=4 m) was experimentally investigated. To attain turbulent flow with Re=8 × 10⁴, a tank operated under high pressure up to 16 MPa. Solutions of different brands of polyethyleneoxide (PEO) with concentrations from 1 ppm to 100 ppm were tested. The results indicate that DR is not a constant value but depends on the time and intensity of interaction between the polymer and the turbulent flow. There are three regions with different behaviors of DR: growth, maximum, and slope down. Maximum DR coincides with the Virk ultimate DR and can be described by the suggested simple formula . A decrease in the DR maximum has not been found even for high shear stresses τ _p < 800 Pa. DR dynamics for four brands of PEO with different molecular weight was studied. Direct experimentally determined DR may be greater than the Virk ultimate value if the change in velocity profile is not taken into account. The corrected DR never exceeds the ultimate DR. Received: 10 April 2000/Accepted: 24 May 2001     

Structure of turbulent pipe flow

The problem of turbulent flow in a straight circular pipe is solved. We consider a system consisting of the equation of motion, the equation for the turbulence energy, the expression relating the turbulence coefficient with the turbulence scale, and the integral formula for determining the turbulence scale. A numerical solution is presented for this closed system of equations for turbulent flow. The results of calculations are compared with experimental data.     

Drag reduction by polymer solutions in a riblet-lined pipe

The flow of 3 to 100 wppm aqueous solutions of a polyethyleneoxide polymer,M _w=6.2×;10⁶, was studied in a 10.2 mm i.d. pipe lined with 0.15 mm V-groove riblets, at diametral Reynolds numbers from 300 to 150000. Measurements in the riblet pipe were accompanied by simultaneous measurements in a smooth pipe of the same diameter placed in tandem. The chosen conditions provided turbulent drag reductions from zero to the asymptotic maximum possible. The onset of polymer-induced drag reduction in the riblet pipe occurred at the same wall shear stress, * _w =0.65 N/m², as that in the smooth pipe. After onset, the polymer solutions in the riblet pipe initially exhibited linear segments on Prandtl-Karman coordinates, akin to those seen in the smooth pipe, with specific slope increment . The maximum drag reduction observed in the riblet pipe was independent of polymer concentration and well below the asymptotic maximum drag reduction observed in the smooth pipe. Polymer solution flows in the riblet pipe exhibited three regimes: (i) Hydraulically smooth, in which riblets induced no drag reduction, amid varying, and considerable, polymer-induced drag reduction; this regime extended to non-dimensional riblet heightsh ⁺<5 in solvent andh ⁺<10 in polymer solutions. (ii) Riblet drag reduction, in which riblet-induced flow enhancementR>0; this regime extended from 5<h ⁺<22 in solvent and from 10<h ⁺<30 in the 3 wppm polymer solution, with respective maximaR=0.6 ath ⁺=14 andR=1.6 ath ⁺=21. Riblet drag reduction decreased with increasing polymer concentration and increasing polymer-induced flow enhancement S. (iii) Riblet drag enhancement, whereinR<0; this regime extended for 22<h ⁺<110 in solvent, withR;–2 forh ⁺>70, and was observed in all polymer solutions at highh ⁺, the more so as polymer-induced drag reduction increased, withR<0 for allS>8. The greatest drag enhancement in polymer solutions,R=–7±1 ath ⁺=55 whereS=20, considerably exceeded that in solvent. Three-dimensional representations of riblet- and polymer-induced drag reductions versus turbulent flow parameters revealed a hitherto unknown dome region, 8<h ⁺<31, 0<S<10, 0<R<1.5, containing a broad maximum at (h ⁺,S,R) = (18, 5, 1.5). The existence of a dome was physically interpreted to suggest that riblets and polymers reduce drag by separate mechanisms.     

Hierarchical structures in a turbulent pipe flow

A hierarchical structure (HS) analysis (β-test and γ-test) is applied to a fully developed turbulent pipe flow. Velocity signals are measured at two cross sections in the pipe and at a series of radial locations from the pipe wall. Particular attention is paid to the variation of turbulent statistics at wall units 10<y⁺<3000. It is shown that at all locations the velocity fluctuations satisfy the She–Leveque hierarchical symmetry (Phys. Rev. Lett. 72 (1994) 336). The measured HS parameters, β and γ, are interpreted in terms of the variation of fluid structures. Intense anisotropic fluid structures generated near the wall appear to be more singular than the most intermittent structures in isotropic turbulence and appear to be more outstanding compared to the background fluctuations; this yields a more intermittent velocity signal with smaller γ and β. As turbulence migrates into the logarithmic region, small-scale motions are generated by an energy cascade and large-scale organized structures emerge which are also less singular than the most intermittent structures of isotropic turbulence. At the center, turbulence is nearly isotropic, and β and γ are close to the 1994 She–Leveque predictions. A transition is observed from the logarithmic region to the center in which γ drops and the large-scale organized structures break down. We speculate that it is due to the growing eddy viscosity effects of widely spread turbulent fluctuations in a similar way as in the breakdown of the Taylor vortices in a turbulent Couette–Taylor flow at high Reynolds numbers.     

Optimal transient growth in turbulent pipe flow

The optimal transient growth process of perturbations driven by the pressure gradient is studied in a turbulent pipe flow. A new computational method is proposed, based on the projection operators which project the governing equations onto the subspace spanned by the radial vorticity and radial velocity. The method is validated by comparing with the previous studies. Two peaks of the maximum transient growth amplification curve are found at different Reynolds numbers ranging from 20 000 to 250 000. The optimal flow structures are obtained and compared with the experiments and DNS results. The location of the outer peak is at the azimuthal wave number n=1, while the location of the inner peak is varying with the Reynolds number. It is observed that the velocity streaks in the buffer layer with a spacing of 100δ_v are the most amplified flow structures. Finally, we consider the optimal transient growth time and its dependence on the azimuthal wave length. It shows a self-similar behavior for perturbations of different scales in the optimal transient growth process.     

Drag reduction effectiveness and shear stability of polymer-polymer and polymer-fibre mixtures in recirculatory turbulent flow of water

The turbulent drag reduction caused by polymer-polymer and polymerfibre mixtures has been measured in recirculatory flow of water. Shear stability studies have also been made on a number of drag reducing polymers, asbestos fibres and their mixtures in recirculatory turbulent flow of water. Reynolds numbers ranged from 20,000 to 57,000. Both positive and negative deviations from linear additive behaviour have been observed in drag reduction caused by the polymer-polymer mixtures depending upon their compositions, flow rate and polymer species in the mixture. The drag reduction by the mixtures has been predicted by using simple mixture rule equations including an interaction parameter. This interaction parameter is believed to depend upon the polymer interaction in the polymer mixture. The random coil size and rigidity of the polymer molecules appear to be responsible for the synergism observed in the drag reduction caused by the mixture. In general, mixtures having larger solvation number seem to give positive synergism.Synergism in drag reduction by the polymer-fibre mixtures has also been observed. The simple mixture law equation with interaction parameter is also applicable in predicting the drag reduction by the mixtures as above. The random coil size of the polymer molecules and the rigidity of the polymer-fibre system appear to be responsible for the synergism observed in drag reduction. In the shearstability studies it has been observed that the decrement in drag reduction (DR) is higher than the the decrement in absolute viscosity in most cases. Carboxymethyl cellulose is found to be the most shear stable polymer followed by guar gum, xanthan gum and polyacrylamide. The mixtures exhibiting synergism in causing drag reduction are found to be more shear stable.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent pipe flow

Fully developed turbulent pipe flow at low Re-number is studied by means of direct numerical simulation (DNS). In contrast to many previous DNS's of turbulent flows in rectangular geometries, the present DNS code, developed for a cylindrical geometry, is based on the finite volume technique rather than being based on a spectral method. The statistical results are compared with experimental data obtained with two different experimental techniques. The agreement between numerical and experimental results is found to be good which indicates that the present DNS code is suited for this kind of numerical simulations.     

Swirling turbulent flow through a curved pipe

An experimental study of a swirling turbulent flow through a curved pipe with a pipe-to-mean-bend radius ratio of 0.077 and a flow Reynolds number based on pipe diameter and mean bulk velocity of 50,000 has been carried out. A rotating section, six pipe diameters long, is set up at six diameters upstream of the curved bend entrance. The rotating section is designed to provide a solid-body rotation to the flow. At the entrance of the rotating section, a fully-developed turbulent pipe flow is established. This study reports on the flow characteristics for the case where the swirl number, defined as the ratio of the pipe circumferential velocity to mean bulk velocity, is one. Wall static pressures, mean velocities, Reynolds stresses and wall shear distribution around the pipe are measured using pressure transducers, rotating-wires and surface hot-film gauges. The measurements are used to analyze the competing effects of swirl and bend curvature on curved-pipe flows, particularly their influence on the secondary flow pattern in the crossstream plane of the curved pipe. At this swirl number, all measured data indicate that, besides the decaying combined free and forced vortex, there are no secondary cells present in the cross-stream plane of the curved pipe. Consequently, the flow displays characteristics of axial symmetry and the turbulent normal stress distributions are more uniform across the pipe compared to fully-developed pipe flows.List of symbols B calibration constant - e bridge voltage - e ₀ bridge voltage at zero flow - C _f total skin friction coefficient, = 2 _w/ W ₀ ² - D pipe diameter, = 7.62 cm - De Dean number, = ^1/2 Re - M angular momentum - n calibration constant - N _s swirl number, = D/2 W ₀ - r radial coordinate - R mean bend radius of curvature, = 49.5 cm - Re pipe Reynolds number, = DW ₀/ - S axial coordinate along the upstream (measured negative) and downstream (measured positive) tangent - U, V, W mean velocities along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - u, v, w mean fluctuating velocities along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - u, v, w root mean square normal stress along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - v ^{ov2}, u^{ov2} normal stress along the tangential and radial direction, respectively - W ₀ mean bulk velocity, 10 m/s - W _c W measured at pipe axis - W total wall friction velocity, - total wall friction velocity measured at S/D = -18 - ,v vw, w7#x016B; turbulent shear stresses - pipe-to-mean-bend radius ratio, = D/2 R = 0.077 - axial coordinate measured from bend entrance - fluid kinematic viscosity - fluid density - _w mean total wall shear stress - instantaneous total wall shear - azimuthal coordinate measured zero from pipe hori zontal diameter near outer bend - angular speed of the rotating section     

Pathline analysis of traveling wavy blowing and suction control in turbulent pipe flow for drag reduction

Skin friction drag is much greater in turbulent flows as compared with that in laminar flows. It is well known that traveling wave control can be used to achieve a large drag reduction. In the present study, a direct numerical simulation of a turbulent pipe flow was performed to clarify the mechanism of the drag reduction caused by the traveling wave control. The flow induced by the control was evaluated using pathline analysis. Near the wall, a “closed flow” was formed, wherein the injected particles return to the wall owing to the suction flow. The random component of Reynolds shear stress was perfectly suppressed in the closed flow, which suggests that there was no turbulence. The controlled flow was categorized into four patterns, and each flow characteristic and drag reduction effect was discussed. When the closing rate is high, the drag decreases, while when the closing rate is low, i.e., when the injected particles are released into the main flow, the turbulence is maintained. If the thickness of the layer suppressing turbulence is insufficient, a significant effect in terms of the drag reduction cannot be expected. The large drag reduction owing to the traveling wave control can be attributed to the elimination of turbulence in the region near the wall.     

Swirling turbulent flow through a curved pipe

An experimental study of swirling turbulent flow through a curved bend and its downstream tangent has been carried out. This study reports on the recovery from swirl and bend curvature and relies on measurements obtained in the downstream tangent and data reported in Part 1 to assess the recovery. Unlike the nonswirling flow case, the present measurements show that the cross-stream secondary flow is dominated by the decay of the solid-body rotation and the total wall shear stress measured at the inner and outer bend (furthest away from the bend center of curvature) is approximately equal. The shear distribution is fairly uniform, even at 1 D downstream of the bend exit. At 49D downstream of the bend exit, the mean axial velocity has recovered to its measured profile at 18D upstream of the bend entrance. Furthermore, the mean tangential velocity is close to zero everywhere and the turbulent shear and normal stresses take another 15D to approximately approach their stationary straight pipe values. Therefore, complete flow recovery from swirl and bend curvature takes a total length of about 85D from the bend entrance. This compares with a recovery length of about 78D for bend curvature alone. The recovery length is substantially shorter than that measured previously in swirling flow through straight pipes and is a consequence of the angular momentum decreasing by approximately 74% across the curved bend. Consequently, the effect of bend curvature is to accelerate swirl decay in a pipe flow.List of symbols C _f total skin friction coefficient, = 2 _w / w ₀ ² - D pipe diameter, = 7.62 cm - De Dean number, = ^1/2 Re = 13,874 - M angular momentum - N _s swirl number, = D/2 W ₀ = 1 - r radial coordinate - R mean bend radius of curvature, = 49.5 cm - Re pipe Reynolds number, = DW ₀ /v= 50,000 - S axial coordinate along the upstream (measured negative) and downstream (measured positive) tangent - U, V, W mean velocities along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - u, v, w mean fluctuating velocities along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - u, v, w root mean square normal stress along the radial, tangential and axial directions, respectively - W ₀ mean bulk velocity, 10 m/s - w total wall friction velocity, = _w / - (w ) _s total wall friction velocity measured as S/D = -18 - turbulent shear stresses - pipe-to-bend radius ratio, = D/2R = 0.077 - axial coordinate measured from bend entrance - fluid kinetic viscosity - fluid density - _w total wall shear stress - azimuthal coordinate measured zero from pipe horizontal diameter near outer bend - angular speed of the rotating section     

Drag reduction for liquid flow through micro-apertures

Pressure drops in the flow through micro-orifices and capillaries were measured for silicone oils, aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG), and surfactant aqueous solutions. The diameter of micro-orifices ranged from 5 μm to 400 μm. The corresponding length/diameter ratio was from 4 to 0.05 and capillary diameters were 105 μm and 450 μm. The following results were obtained: silicone oils of 10^?6 m²/s and 10^?5 m²/s in kinematic viscosity generated a reduction of pressure drop (RPD), that is, drag reduction, similar to the RPD of water and a glycerol/water mixture reported in the previous paper by the present authors. When RPD occurred, the pressure drop (PD) of silicone oils of 10^?6 m²/s and 10^?5 m²/s had nearly the same magnitude. Namely, the difference in viscosity did not influence RPD. A 10³ ppm aqueous solution of PEG20000 provided almost the same PD as that of PEG8000 for the 400 μm to 15 μm orifices, but a greater PD than that of PEG8000 for the 10 μm to 5 μm orifices. A non-ionic surfactant and a cationic surfactant were highly effective in RPD compared with anionic surfactants: the non-ionic and cationic surfactant solutions had PD one order of magnitude lower than that of water under some flow conditions in the concentration range from 1 ppm to 10⁴ ppm, but the anionic surfactant solutions did not generate RPD except in the case of the smallest orifice of 5 μm in diameter. The PD of the non-ionic surfactant solution showed a steep rise at a Reynolds number (Re_t) for 400 μm to 15 μm orifices. The Re_t provides the relationship Re_t = K/D, where D is the orifice diameter, and K is a constant of 2 × 10^?2 m for the 100–20 μm orifices irrespective of liquid concentration. Capillary flow experiment revealed that the PEG, non-ionic and cationic surfactant solutions generated RPD also in a laminar flow through the capillary of 105 μm in diameter, but not in the flow through the capillary of 450 μm in diameter. In order to clarify the cause of RPD, an additional experiment was carried out by changing the orifice material from metal to acrylic resin. The result gave a different appearance of RPD, suggesting that RPD is related to an interfacial phenomenon between the liquid and wall. The large RPDs found in the present experiment are very interesting from both academic and practical viewpoints.     

Heat transfer characteristics of pulsated turbulent pipe flow

Heat Transfer characteristics of pulsated turbulent pipe flow under different conditions of pulsation frequency, amplitude and Reynolds number were experimentally investigated. The pipe wall was kept at uniform heat flux. Reynolds number was varied from 5000 to 29 000 while frequency of pulsation ranged from 1 to 8 Hz. The results show an enhancement in the local Nusselt number at the entrance region. The rate of enhancement decreased as Re increased. Reduction of heat transfer coefficient was observed at higher frequencies and the effect of pulsation is found to be significant at high Reynolds number. It can be concluded that the effect of pulsation on the mean Nusselt numbers is insignificant at low values of Reynolds number. Received on 29 June 1998     

Drag models for simulating gas-solid flow in the turbulent fluidization of FCC particles

in the turbulent fiuidization of FCC particles, and was validated by satisfactory agreement between prediction and experiment.     

Particle and droplet deposition in turbulent swirled pipe flow

In this work we study deposition of particles and droplets in non-rotating swirled turbulent pipe flow. We aim at verifying whether the capability of swirl to enhance particle separation from the core flow and the capability of turbulence to efficiently trap particles at the wall can co-exist to optimize collection efficiency in axial separators. We perform an Eulerian–Lagrangian study based on Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of turbulence, considering the effect of different swirl intensities on turbulence structures and on particle transfer at varying particle inertia. We show that, for suitably-chosen flow parameters, swirl may be superimposed to the base flow without disrupting near-wall turbulent structures and their regeneration mechanisms. We also quantify collection efficiency demonstrating for the first time that an optimal synergy between swirl and wall turbulence can be identified to promote separation of particles and droplets.     

Rotation effects on a fully-developed turbulent pipe flow

A fully-developed turbulent pipe flow is allowed to pass through a rotating pipe section, whose axis of rotation coincides with the pipe axis. At the exit end of the rotating section, the flow passes into a stationary pipe. As a result of the relaxation of surface rotation, the turbulent flow near the pipe wall is affected by extra turbulence production created by the large circumferential shear strain set up by the rapid decrease of the rotational velocity to zero at the wall. However, the flow in the most part of the pipe is absent of this extra turbulence production because the circumferential strain is zero as a result of the solid-body rotation imparted to the flow by the rotating pipe section. The combined effect of these two phenomena on the flow is investigated in detail using hot-wire anemometry techniques. Both mean and turbulence fields are measured, together with the wall shear and the turbulent burst behavior at the wall. A number of experiments at different rotational speeds are carried out. Therefore, the effects of rotation on the behavior of wall shear, turbulent burst at the wall, turbulence production and the near-wall flow can be documented and analysed in detail.     

Numerical investigations on the heat transfer in turbulent oscillating pipe flow

 The examinations on the heat transfer in developing laminar oscillating pipe flow presented before [1] have been extended to include turbulence as well. A suitable low-Reynolds-number k-ɛ-turbulence model was incorporated in an existing 2D-simulation code for oscillating flow conditions and subsequent examinations focused on the heat transfer associated with turbulent oscillating flow. The calculations cover a wide range of the characteristic parameters and the results are summarised in form of new heat transfer correlations to suit with the operating conditions of regenerative thermal machines. Received on 5 July 1999     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of turbulent flow in a pipe

Results are given from an investigation of longitudinal turbulent diffusion by the nuclear magnetic tracer method, and a technique is described for determining the velocity distribution function of the fluid particles in the pipe cross section.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 105–110, November–December, 1971.