Investigación

Reduction of friction in fluid transport: experimental investigation

G.Aguilar*, K. Gasljevic, and E.F. Matthys

Department of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA, 93106, U.S.A.

*. Corresponding author:
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California Riverside,
Riverside, CA 92521, U.S.A.
e–mail: gaguilar@engr.ucr.edu

Recibido el 8 de septiembre de 2006
Aceptado el 22 de septiembre de 2006

Abstract

Drag reduction (DR) by the use of polymer and surfactant solutions is by far the most effective drag–reducing technique for turbulent flows (up to 8–fold reduction in friction coefficients is possible on straight pipes). From a fundamental point of view, the study of the DR phenomenon offers an opportunity for a better understanding of turbulence in general; from a practical point of view, DR can be used to save pumping power. Commercial implementation of drag–reducing fluids has proved successful for oil pipeline transportation, and looks promising for many other applications that are still under investigation, e.g. district heating or cooling systems, hydronic systems in buildings, sewers, irrigation, industrial processes, etc. Our efforts have focused on two main areas: (A) experimental research on momentum and heat transfer of turbulent flows of drag–reducing solutions, and (B) implementation of these solutions in hydronic cooling systems in buildings for energy conservation purposes. This paper describes an overview of the typical experimental research that we conduct in our non–Newtonian fluid mechanics, rheology, and heat transfer laboratory at UCSB.

Keywords: Drag reduction; heat transfer reduction; polymer; surfactant.

Resumen

La reducción de fricción o de arrastre (DR) mediante el uso de soluciones poliméricas o surfactantes es sin duda alguna la técnica de reducción de fricción para flujos turbulentos en tuberías mas efectiva (es posible obtener reducciones de hasta un factor de 8 en los coeficientes de fricción en segmentos de tuberías rectas). Desde el punto de vista fundamental, el estudio del fenómeno de DR ofrece la oportunidad de comprender mejor flujos turbulentos; desde el punto de vista práctico, la DR puede ser usada con propositos de ahorro en potencia de bombeo. La implementación comercial de estos aditivos se ha llevado a cabo con éxito en el transporte de petróleo, y la investigación necesaria para la implementación de estas soluciones en muchas otras aplicaciones sigue en proceso, p.ej., en sistemas centrales de calefacción y aire acondicionado, sistemas hidrónicos en edificios, desagües, irrigación, procesos industriales, etc. Nuestros esfuerzos se han enfocado en dos áreas principales: (A) investigación experimental sobre la transferencia de momentum y calor para soluciones reductoras de fricción, y (B) la implementación de estas soluciones en sistemas hidrónicos de enfriamiento en edificios con el propósito de ahorrar energía. Este documento pretende dar una noción general de la investigación experimental que llevamos a cabo en nuestro laboratorio de dinámica de fluidos no–Newtonianos, reología, y transferencia de calor en la UCSB.

Descriptores: Reducción de fricción y calor; polímeros; surfactantes.

PACS: 83.60.Yz; 47.50.+d; 47.27.Qb; 44.27.+g

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Acknowledgements

GA wishes to acknowledge the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and especially the DGAPA and the IIM for support granted through the scholarship program. The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the California Institute for Energy Efficiency (Contract No.4902610 to EFM), and that of the California Energy Commission (Contract No.500–34–022 to EFM).

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