abstract: This work helps to explain the drag reduction mechanisms at low and moderate turbulent Reynolds numbers in pipe flows. Through direct numerical simulation, the effects of wall oscillations are observed on the turbulence in both the near wall and the bulk region. Analysis of the average Reynolds Stresses at various phases of the flow is provided along with probability density functions of the fluctuating components of velocity and vorticity. The flow is also visualized to observe, qualitatively, changes in the total and fluctuating field of velocity and vorticity. Linear Stochastic Estimation is used to create a conditional eddy (associated with stress production) in the flow and visualize the effects of transverse wall oscillations on hairpin growth, auto-generation and structure. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2019

This thesis involves the experimental testing of a bluff body with a blunt base to evaluate the effectiveness of end-plate tabs in reducing drag. The bluff body is fitted with interchangeable end plates; one plate is flush with the rest of the exterior and the other plate has small tabs protruding perpendicularly into the flow. The body is tested in the Cal Poly 3ft x 4ft low speed wind tunnel. Testing is conducted in three phases. The first phase was the hot-wire measurement of streamwise velocity of the near wake behind the bluff body. An IFA300 thermal anemometry system with a hot-wire probe placed behind the model measures the wake velocity fluctuations. The power spectral density on the model without tabs shows large spikes at Strouhal numbers of 0.266, 0.300, and 0.287 at corresponding Re = 41,400, 82,800, 124,200 where vortex shedding occurs. The model with tabs shows no such peaks in power and therefore has attenuated vortex generation in the wake flow at that location. The second phase of testing was pressure testing the model through the use of pressure ports on the exterior of the bluff body. A Scanivalve pressure transducer measured multiple ports almost simultaneously through tubing that was connected to the model internally and routed through the model’s strut mount and outside of the wind tunnel. This pressure testing shows that the model with tabs is able to achieve up to 36% increase in Cp at Reh = 41,400 on the base region of the bluff body and no negative pressure spikes that occur as a result of vortex shedding. The last phase of testing is the measurement of total drag on the model through a sting balance mount. This testing shows that the drag on the model is reduced by 14% at Re = 41,400. However it also shows that as velocity increased, the drag reduction is reduced and ultimately negated at Re = 124,200 with no drag loss at all. The addition of tabs as a passive flow control device did eliminate vortex shedding and alter the base pressure of the bluff body. This particular model however showed no reduction in total drag on the model at high Reynolds numbers higher than 124,000. Further study is necessary to isolate the exact geometry and flow velocities that should be able to produce more favorable drag results for a bluff body with this type of passive flow control device.

A study of the interaction of one-sided flow over a compliant surface is presented. When fluid passes over a flexible surface the simultaneous interaction between the flow and structure gives rise to vibrations and instabilities on the surface as well as in the fluid. The fluid-structure interaction (FSI) has potential to be used in the control of boundary layer dynamics to achieve drag reduction through transition delay. The modelling and control of FSI systems apply to many fields of engineering beyond drag reduction, for example: the modelling and analysis of biomechanical systems; natural environmental systems; aero-elastics; and other areas where flow interacts moving or compliant boundaries. The investigation is performed through numerical simulation. This returns more detail than could be resolved through experiments, while also permitting the study of finite compliant surfaces that are prohibitively difficult, or impossible, to study with analytical techniques. In the present work, novel numerical modelling methods are developed from linear system analysis through to nonlinear disturbances and viscous effects. / Two numerical modelling techniques are adopted to approach the analysis of the FSI system. A potential-flow method is used for the modelling of flows in the limit of infinite Reynolds numbers, while a grid-free Discrete Vortex Method (DVM) is used for the modelling of the rotational boundary-layer flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. In both inviscid and viscous studies, significant contributions are made to the numerical modelling techniques. The application of these methods to the study of flow over compliant panels gives new insight to the nature of the FSI system. In the linear inviscid model, a novel hybrid computational/theoretical method is developed that evaluates the eigenvalues and eigenmodes from a discretised FSI system. The results from the non-linear inviscid model revealed that the steady-state of the non-linear wall motion is independent of initial excitation. For the viscous case, the first application of a DVM to model the interaction of a viscous, rotational flow with a compliant surface is developed. This DVM is successfully applied to model boundary-layer flow over a finite compliant surface.

lthough extensive research work has been carried out on the drag reduction behavior of polymers and surfactants alone, little progress has been made on the synergistic effects of combined polymers and surfactants. A number of studies have demonstrated that certain types of polymers and surfactants interact with each other to form surfactant-polymer complexes. The formation of such complexes can cause changes in the solution properties and may result in better drag reduction characteristics as compared with pure additives. A series of drag-reducing surfactants and polymers were screened for the synergistic studies. The following two widely used polymeric drag reducing agents (DRA) were chosen: a copolymer of acrylamide and sodium acrylate (referred to as PAM) and polyethylene oxide (PEO). Among the different types of surfactants screened, a cationic surfactant octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (OTAC) and an anionic surfactant Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were selected for the synergistic study. In the case of the cationic surfactant OTAC, sodium salicylate (NaSal) was used as a counterion. No counterion was used with anionic surfactant SDS. The physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension and electrical conductivity were measured in order to detect any interaction between the polymer and the surfactant. The drag reduction (DR) ability of both pure and mixed additives was investigated in a pipeline flow loop. The effects of different parameters such as additive concentration, type of water (deionized (DI) or tap), temperature, tube diameter, and mechanical degradation were investigated. The addition of OTAC to PAM solution has a significant effect on the properties of the system. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the mixed surfactant-polymer system is found to be different from that of the surfactant alone. The anionic PAM chains collapse upon the addition of cationic OTAC and a substantial decrease in the viscosity occurs. The pipeline flow behaviour of PAM/OTAC mixtures is found to be consistent with the bench scale results. The drag reduction ability of PAM is reduced upon the addition of OTAC. At low concentrations of PAM, the effect of OTAC on the drag reduction behavior is more pronounced. The drag reduction behavior of polymer solutions is strongly influenced by the nature of water (de-ionized or tap). The addition of OTAC to PEO solution exhibited a week interaction based on the viscosity and surface tension measurements. However, the pipeline results showed a considerable synergistic effect, that is, the mixed system gave a significantly higher drag reduction (lower friction factors) as compared with the pure additives (pure polymer or pure surfactant). The synergistic effect in the mixed system was stronger at low polymer concentrations and high surfactant concentrations. Also the resistance against mechanical degradation of the additive was improved upon the addition of OTAC to PEO. The mixed PEO/SDS system exhibited a strong interaction between the polymers (PEO) and the surfactant (SDS), Using electrical conductivity and surface tension measurements, the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) and the polymer saturation point (PSP) were determined. As the PEO concentration is increased, the CAC decreases and the PSP increase. The addition of SDS to the PEO solution exhibits a remarkable increase in the relative viscosity compared to the pure PEO solution. This increase is attributed to the changes in the hydrodynamic radius of the polymer coil. The pipeline flow exhibited a considerable increase in DR for the mixed system as compared to the pure PEO solution. The addition of surfactant always improves the extent of DR up to the PSP. Also the mixed PEO/ SDS system shows better resistance against shear degradation of the additive.

No description available.

The effect of additives on friction loss in upward turbulent flow was investigated in this experimental study. Additives such as air bubbles, frother and polymer were added to water flow to study their influence on the friction factor. In order to perform this research an experimental set-up was designed and developed. The test sections of the set-up consisted of three vertical pipes of different diameters. The set-up was equipped with three pressure transducers, a magnetic flowmeter, gas spargers and a gas rotameter. The first phase of the experimental program involved calibration of the various devices and pipelines test-sections. The single-phase pressure loss data obtained from the pipelines exhibited good agreement with the standard equations. The second phase of the experimental program dealt with the effect of air bubbles and additives (frother and polymer) on drag reduction in turbulent flows. The experimental results showed that bubbles in the range of 1 mm-3 mm increased the wall shear stress. Therefore, no drag-reduction effect was observed. On the contrary, a significant increase in friction factor was observed at low Reynolds numbers as a result of larger bubble sizes and lower turbulence intensities. The friction factor at low Reynolds numbers could be decreased by decreasing the bubble size by addition of frother to the flow system. The combination of polymer and air bubbles showed a drag reduction of up to 60%. It is also evident from the experiment results that the addition of polymer to bubbly flow system leads to fully homogeneous mixture.

The effect of additives on friction loss in upward turbulent flow was investigated in this experimental study. Additives such as air bubbles, frother and polymer were added to water flow to study their influence on the friction factor. In order to perform this research an experimental set-up was designed and developed. The test sections of the set-up consisted of three vertical pipes of different diameters. The set-up was equipped with three pressure transducers, a magnetic flowmeter, gas spargers and a gas rotameter. The first phase of the experimental program involved calibration of the various devices and pipelines test-sections. The single-phase pressure loss data obtained from the pipelines exhibited good agreement with the standard equations. The second phase of the experimental program dealt with the effect of air bubbles and additives (frother and polymer) on drag reduction in turbulent flows. The experimental results showed that bubbles in the range of 1 mm-3 mm increased the wall shear stress. Therefore, no drag-reduction effect was observed. On the contrary, a significant increase in friction factor was observed at low Reynolds numbers as a result of larger bubble sizes and lower turbulence intensities. The friction factor at low Reynolds numbers could be decreased by decreasing the bubble size by addition of frother to the flow system. The combination of polymer and air bubbles showed a drag reduction of up to 60%. It is also evident from the experiment results that the addition of polymer to bubbly flow system leads to fully homogeneous mixture.

An experimental study on drag reduction by injection of microbubbles was performed in the upper wall of a rectangular channel at Re = 5128. Particle Image Velocimetry measurement technique (PIV) was used to obtain instantaneous velocity fields in the x-y plane. Microbubbles, with an average diameter of 30??m, were produced by electrolysis using platinum wires with a diameter of 76 ??m. They were injected in the buffer layer producing several different values of local void fraction. A maximum drag reduction of 38.45% was attained with a local void fraction of 4.8 %. The pressure drop in the test station was measured by a reluctance pressure transducer. Several parameters such as velocity profile, turbulent intensities, skewness, flatness, joint probability density function (JPDF), enstrophy, one and two-dimensional energy spectra were evaluated. The results indicate that microbubbles reduced the intermittency of the streamwise fluctuating component in the region near the wall. At the same time they destroy or reduce the vortical structures regions (high shear zones) close to the wall. They also redistribute the energy among different eddy sizes. An energy shift from larger wavenumbers to lower wavenumbers is observed in the near wall region (buffer layer). However, outside this region, the opposite trend takes place. The JPDF results indicate that there is a decrease in the correlation between the streamwise and the normal fluctuating velocities, resulting in a reduction of the Reynolds stresses. The results of this study indicate that pursuing drag reduction by injection of microbubbles in the buffer layer could result in great saving of energy and money. The high wavenumber region of the one dimensional wavenumber spectra was evaluated from PIV spatial information, where the maximum wavenumber depends on the streamwise length (for streamwise wavenumber) of the recorded image and the minimum wavenumber depends on the distance between vectors. On the other hand, the low wavenumber region was calculated from the PIV temporal information by assuming Taylor??s frozen hypothesis. This new approach allows obtaining the energy distribution of a wider wavenumber region.

lthough extensive research work has been carried out on the drag reduction behavior of polymers and surfactants alone, little progress has been made on the synergistic effects of combined polymers and surfactants. A number of studies have demonstrated that certain types of polymers and surfactants interact with each other to form surfactant-polymer complexes. The formation of such complexes can cause changes in the solution properties and may result in better drag reduction characteristics as compared with pure additives. A series of drag-reducing surfactants and polymers were screened for the synergistic studies. The following two widely used polymeric drag reducing agents (DRA) were chosen: a copolymer of acrylamide and sodium acrylate (referred to as PAM) and polyethylene oxide (PEO). Among the different types of surfactants screened, a cationic surfactant octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (OTAC) and an anionic surfactant Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were selected for the synergistic study. In the case of the cationic surfactant OTAC, sodium salicylate (NaSal) was used as a counterion. No counterion was used with anionic surfactant SDS. The physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension and electrical conductivity were measured in order to detect any interaction between the polymer and the surfactant. The drag reduction (DR) ability of both pure and mixed additives was investigated in a pipeline flow loop. The effects of different parameters such as additive concentration, type of water (deionized (DI) or tap), temperature, tube diameter, and mechanical degradation were investigated. The addition of OTAC to PAM solution has a significant effect on the properties of the system. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the mixed surfactant-polymer system is found to be different from that of the surfactant alone. The anionic PAM chains collapse upon the addition of cationic OTAC and a substantial decrease in the viscosity occurs. The pipeline flow behaviour of PAM/OTAC mixtures is found to be consistent with the bench scale results. The drag reduction ability of PAM is reduced upon the addition of OTAC. At low concentrations of PAM, the effect of OTAC on the drag reduction behavior is more pronounced. The drag reduction behavior of polymer solutions is strongly influenced by the nature of water (de-ionized or tap). The addition of OTAC to PEO solution exhibited a week interaction based on the viscosity and surface tension measurements. However, the pipeline results showed a considerable synergistic effect, that is, the mixed system gave a significantly higher drag reduction (lower friction factors) as compared with the pure additives (pure polymer or pure surfactant). The synergistic effect in the mixed system was stronger at low polymer concentrations and high surfactant concentrations. Also the resistance against mechanical degradation of the additive was improved upon the addition of OTAC to PEO. The mixed PEO/SDS system exhibited a strong interaction between the polymers (PEO) and the surfactant (SDS), Using electrical conductivity and surface tension measurements, the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) and the polymer saturation point (PSP) were determined. As the PEO concentration is increased, the CAC decreases and the PSP increase. The addition of SDS to the PEO solution exhibits a remarkable increase in the relative viscosity compared to the pure PEO solution. This increase is attributed to the changes in the hydrodynamic radius of the polymer coil. The pipeline flow exhibited a considerable increase in DR for the mixed system as compared to the pure PEO solution. The addition of surfactant always improves the extent of DR up to the PSP. Also the mixed PEO/ SDS system shows better resistance against shear degradation of the additive.

Orientador: Edvaldo Sabadini / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T15:29:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Guersoni_VanessaCristinaBizotto_D.pdf: 3480518 bytes, checksum: 90d693157249a652dfd8cc9e674e7ad2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Quando pequenas quantidades (da ordem de ppm) de polímeros de elevada massa molecular são dissolvidos num solvente submetidos a um escoamento turbulento, elevados níveis de redução de atrito hidrodinâmico (RA) podem ser obtidos. Quando o fluido entra em regime turbulento, ocorrem flutuações de velocidade, perturbações conhecidas por vórtices, com ampla distribuição de tamanhos. As perturbações de pequena dimensão são associadas com a perda de energia viscosa do líquido sob escoamento, sendo que os agentes redutores de atrito atuam nestas estruturas. Uma teoria bastante interessante foi desenvolvida por De Gennes para explicar o fenômeno de redução de atrito hidrodinâmico. Segundo esta teoria, deve haver uma ressonância entre a freqüência de desenvolvimento de vórtices com a freqüência de estiramento da macromolécula (dissolvida na solução) para que ocorra o truncamento da cascata de vórtices, diminuindo a dissipação de energia viscosa e, consequentemente, reduzindo o atrito hidrodinâmico. Assim, a flexibilidade da macromolécula que promove a redução de atrito é muito significativa. Neste estudo, foram usados dois polímeros flexíveis, poli(óxido de etileno), PEO e poliacrilamida, PAM, e empregadas duas técnicas para se investigar a teoria de De Gennes: impacto de gotas (¿splash¿) e reometria. No ¿splash¿, a redução de atrito foi estudada pela rápida deformação do líquido durante o impacto da gota, usando as imagens obtidas em uma câmera de alta velocidade. A porcentagem de RA foi determinada com base na altura do jato Rayleigh (uma das estruturas do ¿splash¿). Estes estudos permitiram estabelecer correlações entre a dinâmica de deformação do líquido e da cadeia polimérica. A redução de atrito estudada por reometria se baseia na mudança do esforço (torque) para manter o líquido em determinada rotação. Os resultados obtidos no reômetro são bastante reprodutíveis e permitiram a determinação de efeitos de redução de atrito para concentrações do agente de apenas 2 ppm. A degradação mecânica sofrida pelos polímeros, ao serem submetidos a intenso cisalhamento, também foi avaliada no reômetro rotacional. Um modelo cinético foi proposto para comparar a estabilidade de PEO e PAM frente a degradação mecânica. Observou-se que intrinsecamente os dois polímeros degradam na mesma taxa. Os estudos desenvolvidos no reômetro também permitiram avaliar os efeitos elásticos do agente redutor de atrito (de acordo com a teoria de de Gennes). Estes foram desenvolvidos adicionando-se pequenas concentrações (menores de 1%) de partículas rígidas de sílica em soluções aquosas contendo sistemas flexíveis (PEO). A adsorção de PEO sobre as partículas de sílica levam a formação de sistemas semi-flexíveis, afetando significativamente a capacidade de redução de atrito hidrodinâmico / Abstract: When a very small amount (in the range of ppm) of a polymer with high-molecular weight is added in turbulent flow, it can cause drastic reduction of frictional drag. In turbulent flow, the velocity fluctuation (vortices) with large size distribution is observed. The small fluctuations are associated with the loss of kinetic energy of the liquid, due to its viscosity, and the drag reducing agents act in these structures. An interesting theory was developed by de Gennes to explain the drag reduction phenomenon. According to this theory, the frequencies in which the vortices are created and the stretching of the polymer chain must be in resonance, in order to avoid the growing of the cascade of vortices, decreasing the loss of the energy (due to the viscosity), and consequently promoting the drag reduction. Therefore, the flexibility of the macromolecule is very important. In this study two flexible polymers, poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, and polyacrylamide, PAM, were used, and two techniques: the impact of drops (splash) and rheometry were employed to investigate the theory of de Gennes. For splash, the drag reduction was studied using the images of the liquid deformation during the drop impact (in range of some mili-seconds) obtained in a very fast digital camera. The percentage of drag reduction was determined using the maximum height of the Rayleigh jet (one of the splash structures). This study allows us to correlate the dynamic of the liquid deformation and the stretching of the polymer chain. The drag reduction using rheometry is based on the torque necessary to keep the liquid in a specific rotation. The results using the rheometer are very reproducible, allowing the determination of drag reduction even in very low polymer concentration (such as 2 ppm). The polymer mechanical degradation, due to the high shear, was also investigated in the rotational rheometer. A kinetic model was proposed to compare the mechanical stability of both polymers. It was observed that intrinsically, the two polymers undergo degradation in the same rate. The studies in the rheometer also allow the investigation of the elastic effect of the drag reducer agents (according to the theory of de Gennes). They were developed by adding small amounts of colloidal silica particles (less than 1%). The adsorption of the PEO chain at the surfaces of the particle, results in a semi-flexible system, affecting the capability of the particle to promote drag reduction / Doutorado / Físico-Química / Doutor em Ciências