Direct numerical simulations of viscoelastic turbulent channel flows at high drag reduction

In this work we show the results of our most recent Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of turbulent viscoelastic channel flow using spectral spatial approximations and a stabilizing artificial diffusion in the viscoelastic constitutive model. The Finite-Elasticity Non-Linear Elastic Dumbbell model with the Peterlin approximation (FENE-P) is used to represent the effect of polymer molecules in solution, The corresponding rheological parameters are chosen so that to get closer to the conditions corresponding to maximum drag reduction: A high extensibility parameter (60) and a moderate solvent viscosity ratio (0.8) are used with two different friction Weissenberg numbers (50 and 100). We then first find that the corresponding achieved drag reduction, in the range of friction Reynolds numbers used in this work (180-590), is insensitive to the Reynolds number (in accordance to previous work). The obtained drag reduction is at the level of $49\%\;and\;63\%$, for the friction Weissenberg numbers 50 and 100, respectively. The largest value is substantially higher than any of our previous simulations, performed at more moderate levels of viscoelasticity (i.e. higher viscosity ratio and smaller extensibility parameter values). Therefore, the maximum extensional viscosity exhibited by the modeled system and the friction Weissenberg number can still be considered as the dominant factors determining the levels of drag reduction. These can reach high values, even for of dilute polymer solution (the system modeled by the FENE-P model), provided the flow viscoelasticity is high, corresponding to a high polymer molecular weight (which translates to a high extensibility parameter) and a high friction Weissenberg number. Based on that and the changes observed in the turbulent structure and in the most prevalent statistics, as presented in this work, we can still rationalize for an increasing extensional resistance-based drag reduction mechanism as the most prevalent mechanism for drag reduction, the same one evidenced in our previous work: As the polymer elasticity increases, so does the resistance offered to extensional deformation. That, in turn, changes the structure of the most energy-containing turbulent eddies (they become wider, more well correlated, and weaker in intensity) so that they become less efficient in transferring momentum, thus leading to drag reduction. Such a continuum, rheology-based, mechanism has first been proposed in the early 70s independently by Metzner and Lamley and is to be contrasted against any molecularly based explanations.