Drag Reduction Of Solutions Research Articles

Surfactant–solid complex for enhancing the flow in pipelines: an experimental approach

BackgroundViscoelastic soluble polymeric additives have been used successfully for a long time as drag reducers in pipelines carrying commercial liquids like crude oil. Most of these polymers suffer from irreversible degradation when exposed to high shearing zones as in valves, elbows, and pumps which reduces, or eliminates, its flow enhancement effect. Insoluble additives were proven to be an effective drag reducer that overcomes the degradation drawback of soluble additives. On the other hand, insoluble additives suffer from the lack of viscoelasticity which limits their use as flow enhancers. The creation of complexes from soluble and insoluble additives is a field of research that is rarely explored despite its importance in introducing new flow enhancement methods for a higher drag reduction performance. The present work introduces a new surfactant–solid complex as a drag-reducing agent for turbulent flow in pipelines.ResultsThe surfactant, solid, and their complexes’ drag reduction performance was tested in a closed-loop turbulent flow liquid circulation system, while rheological characteristics of the soluble additives were tested using a standard rheometer. All the surfactant solutions showed non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior in all the investigated concentrations that ranged between 500 and 1300 wppm. The initial experimental result indicated that the surfactant solution's drag reduction performance was higher than that of the solid suspensions. On the other hand, the drag reduction performance was enhanced by 52% when creating a 1300 wppm surfactant–2000 wppm solid complex. This improvement in the drag reduction performance is due to the formation of surfactant–solid-enforced aggregates with high resistance to shear forces and high turbulence suppression efficiency.ConclusionsThe present work introduces a new drag reduction solid–surfactant complex by creating aggregates combining the viscoelastic properties of surfactants with the resistance to high shear forces exerted by the solid particles. The polar nature of the surfactant micelles that form in single-phase flow systems contributed significantly to trapping the solid's micro-particles as enforcement to resist the shearing forces applied by the turbulent flow system.

Water‐soluble polymers. LXXXIII. Correlation of experimentally determined drag reduction efficiency and extensional viscosity of high molecular weight polymers in dilute aqueous solution

AbstractThe extensional viscosity for aqueous solutions of high molecular weight poly(acrylamide) copolymers and poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymers was measured using a laboratory‐designed screen extensional rheometer. A Bingham model was developed to estimate the average local polymer coil extensional viscosity (ηcoil). A strong correlation was found between the measured ηcoil values and the polymer extensional viscosity predicted by a bead‐spring model. The dilute aqueous solution drag reduction was measured with a rotating disk instrument under conditions minimizing the effects of shear degradation. Extensional viscosity and drag reduction measurements were performed in deionized water and in 0.514M sodium chloride. The relative drag reduction efficiency values (Δ) in both solvents were found to strongly correlate with measured ηcoil values. This is the first report of the accurate prediction of drag reduction behavior for a wide range of polymer types in various solvents from the independently measured molecular parameters ηcoil and [η]C. The often‐used relative drag reduction efficiency expressed as the product of [η]C and Δ can now be replaced by the absolute drag reduction efficiency [η]Cηcoil. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 1222–1231, 2001

Enhanced drag reduction via Interpolymer Associations

Hydrocarbon soluble polymers containing small percentages of polar associating groups are used to determine the effects of polymer associations on solution drag reduction. Experimental data suggest that intrapolymer associations generally decrease the dilute solution drag reduction activities of single associating polymers with like polar groups. Interpolymer complexes formed by, for example, one polymer with anionic groups and one polymer with cationic groups can overcome this limitation and provide enhanced dilute solution drag reduction activity as a result of favorable interpolymer associations which build larger structures of higher apparent molecular weight. The latter associations may also increase the polymers' resistance to degradation in turbulent flows.

Drag reduction in aqueous cationic soap solutions

The pipe flow drag-reducing properties of mixtures of alkyltrimethylammonium halides with 1-naphthol in aqueous solution have been investigated. The effects of solution concentration, soap-naphthol ratio, soap molecular weight and solution temperature upon drag reduction and swirl decay time are reported. The critical wall shear stresses above which the drag-reducing properties cease correlate well with swirl decay time. At low soap concentrations greater than equimolar proportions of 1-naphthol with the soap are required for maximum drag reduction. The drag-reducing properties of these solutions are greatest at and around the Krafft point of the pure soap. A phenomenon similar to onset for polymer solution drag reduction is reported for these soap solutions.

Laser Velocimeter Measurement of Reynolds Stress and Turbulence in Dilute Polymer Solutions

Measurements of Reynolds stress and axial and transverse turbulence intensities have been made in drag-reducing turbulent pipe flow of a dilute solution of high molecular weight polymer and compared to measurements made with pure water. A newly developed laser velocimeter capable of measuring these turbulence parameters has been utilized and is described in detail. Axial turbulence intensities measured in polymer solution are consistent with previous polymer results and viscous sublayer thickening is observed. New results include demonstration that the turbulent shearing stress is reduced in the turbulent core by an amount proportional to the observed decrease in pressure gradient at the wall, and extrapolates to a wall value in agreement with calculated local wall shear. Near the wall polymer solution Reynolds stress is reduced below that measured for water consistent with observed velocity profiles. Polymer radial turbulence intensities are comparable with those for water in the turbulent core, but exhibit similar dramatic suppression near the wall. These and other recent results strongly suggest that dilute polymer solution drag reduction is primarily a wall phenomenon. Polymers appear to have little or no effect on turbulent flow away from a solid boundary where turbulent velocities scale with u_τ, the shear velocity based on the observed wall shear.