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Drag reduction by polymer addition

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6584355
The reduction of flow friction drag through polymer addition, a phenomenon first subjected to systematic study, has been the subject of very extensive research during the last decade. Drag reduction has been observed with a large number of additive-fluid combinations, the most effective ones being high-molecular-weight linear polymers (such as polyethyleneoxide) in water. There are clear experimental indications that drag reduction is associated with a modification of the turbulence structure, and this is most remarkable in view of the permanence and statistical stability exhibited by ordinary Newtonian shear flow turbulence. In this review of the subject, special attention is paid to the changes in turbulence structure brought about by the additives, and an effort is made to understand these in the light of recent advances in the study of shear flow turbulence in ordinary fluids. Also, a simplified theoretical model of shear flow wall turbulence is presented, with the aid of which an exploratory study of the influence of some non-Newtonian fluid properties is conducted.
Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge (USA)
OSTI ID:
6584355
Report Number(s):
AFOSR-TR-74-1892; AD-004491/7GA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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