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Scale effects in polymer solution pipe flow

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Abstract

Satisfactory scaling from laboratory-scale pipe-flow data to large industrial pipelines is an area of practical concern in the utilization of drag-reducing polymer solutions. From experimental data for pipes 0.0254 m in diameter and above, it is shown that accurate scaling can be obtained using a simple, pocket-calculator method. However, pipes of say, 0.005 m and smaller provide much less accurate scaling data for larger pipes. A detailed study of the velocity profiles in drag-reducing flow indicates a total lack of similarity of the profiles of the very small pipes compared with the larger.

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Abbreviations

A,B :

constants in velocity profile equation

ΔB :

constant indicating drag reduction

D:

pipe diameter, m

k:

Karman constant (reciprocal of A)

k s :

height of sand-type roughness, m

N :

nondimensional negative roughness parameter

Re :

Reynolds number, UD/v

U :

average velocity in pipe, m/sec

u + :

local velocity in pipe, nondimensionalized with u *

u * :

friction velocity, m/sec

y :

radial distance from pipe wall, m

y + :

nondimensional distance from wall, yu * /v

λ :

Darcy friction factor

v :

kinematic viscosity, m2/sec

1:

experimental data

2:

predicted

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, San Diego State University, 92182, San Diego, CA, USA

    J. W. Hoyt

  2. Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, BS8 1TR, Bristol, UK

    R. H. J. Sellin

Authors
  1. J. W. Hoyt
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  2. R. H. J. Sellin
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Hoyt, J.W., Sellin, R.H.J. Scale effects in polymer solution pipe flow. Experiments in Fluids 15, 70–74 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195598

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