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Exceeding the Asymptotic Limit of Polymer Drag Reduction

George H. Choueiri, Jose M. Lopez, and Björn Hof
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 124501 – Published 19 March 2018
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Abstract

The drag of turbulent flows can be drastically decreased by adding small amounts of high molecular weight polymers. While drag reduction initially increases with polymer concentration, it eventually saturates to what is known as the maximum drag reduction (MDR) asymptote; this asymptote is generally attributed to the dynamics being reduced to a marginal yet persistent state of subdued turbulent motion. Contrary to this accepted view, we show that, for an appropriate choice of parameters, polymers can reduce the drag beyond the suggested asymptotic limit, eliminating turbulence and giving way to laminar flow. At higher polymer concentrations, however, the laminar state becomes unstable, resulting in a fluctuating flow with the characteristic drag of the MDR asymptote. Our findings indicate that the asymptotic state is hence dynamically disconnected from ordinary turbulence.

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  • Received 9 June 2017
  • Revised 22 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.124501

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid DynamicsPolymers & Soft Matter

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Polymers Reduce Drag More than Expected

Published 19 March 2018

Adding polymer to a liquid was thought to reduce drag only up to a point, but new experiments have found exceptions to the usual limit.

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Authors & Affiliations

George H. Choueiri*, Jose M. Lopez, and Björn Hof

  • IST Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria

  • *George.Choueiri@ist.ac.at
  • bhof@ist.ac.at

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Issue

Vol. 120, Iss. 12 — 23 March 2018

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