The effects of drag reducing polymers on flow stability : Insights from the Taylor-Couette problem

Taylor-Couette flow (i.e., flow between concentric, rotating cylinders) has long served as a paradigm for studies of hydrodynamic stability. For Newtonian fluids, the rich cascade of transitions from laminar, Couette flow to turbulent flow occurs through a set of well-characterized flow states (Taylor Vortex Flow, wavy Taylor vortices, modulated wavy vortices, etc.) that depend on the Reynolds numbers of both the inner and outer cylinders ($Re_i$ and $Re_o$). While extensive work has been done on (a) the effects of weak viscoelasticity on the first few transitions for $Re_o=0$ and (b) the effects of strong viscoelasticity in the limit of vanishing inertia ($Re_i$ and $Re_o$ both vanishing), the viscoelastic Taylor-Couette problem presents an enormous parameter space, much of which remains completely unexplored. Here we describe our recent experimental efforts to examine the effects of drag reducing polymers on the complete range of flow states observed in the Taylor-Couette problem. Of particular importance in the present work is 1) the rheological characterization of the test solutions via both shear and extensional (CaBER) rheometry, 2) the wide range of parameters examined, including $Re_i$, $Re_o$ and Elasticity number E1, and 3) the use of a consistent, conservative protocol for accessing flow states. We hope that by examining the stability changes for each flow state, we may gain insights into the importance of particular coherent structures in drag reduction, identify simple ways of screening new drag reducing additives, and improve our understanding of the mechanism of drag reduction.