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Transition to turbulence in pipe flow for water and dilute solutions of polyethylene oxide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

R. W. Paterson  and
F. H. Abernathy
R. W. Paterson
Affiliation:
Division of Engineering and Applied Physics, Harvard University Present address: Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, United Aircraft Research Laboratories, East Hartford, Connecticut.
F. H. Abernathy
Affiliation:
Division of Engineering and Applied Physics, Harvard University
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Abstract

An experimental study of the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in a long 0·248in. I.D. pipe is reported for both water and dilute water solutions of polyethylene oxide which exhibit turbulent flow drag reduction (the Toms phenomenon). The drag-reducing solutions, ranging in effectiveness from near zero to the maximum attainable, are observed to undergo transition in a similar way to the Newtonian solvent in that the solutions exhibit intermittency and the growth rates of the turbulent patches are essentially equal to those of the pure solvent. The growth rate of turbulent patches indicates that drag reduction is associated with the small-scale structure of the turbulence near the pipe wall while patch growth is associated with the larger-scale turbulence in the outer flow. For low-disturbance pipe inlet conditions the strong drag-reducing solutions are observed to undergo transition at lower Reynolds numbers than the pure solvent.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , 11 January 1972 , pp. 177 - 185
Copyright
© 1972 Cambridge University Press

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