Exceeding the asymptotic limit of polymer drag reduction
The drag of turbulent flows can be drastically decreased by adding small amounts of high molecular weight polymers. While drag reduction initially increases with polymer concentration, it eventually saturates to what is known as the maximum drag reduction (MDR) asymptote; this asymptote is generally...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2018 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/362637 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/362637 https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.124501 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Turbulence Elasto-inertial turbulence Polymer drag reduction Non-Newtonian fluids Turbulència Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física |
| Sumario: | The drag of turbulent flows can be drastically decreased by adding small amounts of high molecular weight polymers. While drag reduction initially increases with polymer concentration, it eventually saturates to what is known as the maximum drag reduction (MDR) asymptote; this asymptote is generally attributed to the dynamics being reduced to a marginal yet persistent state of subdued turbulent motion. Contrary to this accepted view, we show that, for an appropriate choice of parameters, polymers can reduce the drag beyond the suggested asymptotic limit, eliminating turbulence and giving way to laminar flow. At higher polymer concentrations, however, the laminar state becomes unstable, resulting in a fluctuating flow with the characteristic drag of the MDR asymptote. Our findings indicate that the asymptotic state is hence dynamically disconnected from ordinary turbulence. |
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