A Study on Drag Reduction Agency for Gas Pipeline

The drag reduction agency (DRA) for gas pipeline, a novel method used for reducing friction or drag on a gas flowing to increase the transmission efficiency of gas pipeline, is a more flexible and economical technology than internal flow efficient coatings. In this paper, an effective DRA has been developed in Authors' Institute by analyzing the hydrodynamic friction resistance on internal gas pipeline and then studying the work mechanism and molecular structure of DRA. In the meantime, a group of property test for selecting DRA material has been determined, including viscosity, contact angle, volatility, corrosion, slab extending, and flow behavior in horizontal tube. The inhibition efficiency and drag reduction efficiency of the developed DRA have been investigated finally based on the relevant test methods. Results of corrosion test show that the developed DRA has very good inhibition effect on mild steel by brushing a thin layer of DRA on steel specimens, giving inhibition efficiency of 91.2% and 73.1% in 3%NaCl solution and standard salt fog environment respectively. Results of drag-reducing test also show that the Colebrook formula could be used to calculate friction factors on internal pipes with DRA as the Reynolds number is in the range of $0.75\times10^5\sim2.0\times10^5$. By comparing with normal industrial pipes, the friction resistance coefficient of the steel pipe with DRA on internal wall decreases by 13% and the gas flux increases by 7.3% in testing condition with Reynolds number of $2.0\times10^5$.