Mechanical degradation kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) in a turbulent flow

Turbulent drag reduction (DR) efficiency of water soluble poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with two different molecular weights was studied as a function of polymer concentration and temperature in a turbulent flow produced via a rotating disk system. Its mechanical degradation behavior as a function of time in a turbulent flow was also analyzed using both a simple exponential decay function and a fractional exponential decay equation. The fractional exponential decay equation was found to fit the experimental data better than the simple exponential decay function. Its thermal degradation further exhibited that the susceptibility of PEO to degradation increases dramatically with increasing temperature.