Flow Characteristics of Drag Reducing Channel Flows Induced by Surfactant

계면활성제를 첨가한 마찰감소 채널흐름의 유동특성

A 2D-LDV system was employed to investigate the flow field characteristics in fully developed drag reducing turbulent channel flows. The additive used in this study was Habon-G which showed splendid drag reduction effect and minimum mechanical degradation trend in the closed flow circulation loop. In order to have better understanding of the drag reduction mechanism, the instantaneous velocities were carefully measured under various experimental conditions and the flow characteristics including time-averaged velocity, turbulent intensity and Reynolds shear stresses were carefully assessed. The time-averaged velocity profiles of surfactant flows showed more parabolic shape(typically shown in a laminar flow) together with significant suppression of turbulent production, yielding the shear induced micelle structure orienting in the flow direction due to its isotropic characteristics. Especially it was observed that the maximum intensity for drag reducing flows was shifted away from the wall and that the streamwise and normal turbulent intensities were strongly altered. This phenomenon strongly suggests that the viscous sublayer becomes thicker with addition of surfactant. Turbulent momentum transport was drastically suppressed across the whole drag reducing channel flow.