Vortex Motion in a Swirling Flow of Surfactant Solution with Drag Reduction

Surfactants are well known as additives which induce drag reduction in the straight (nonswirling) pipe flow. However, in industrial applications of the drag-reducing effect, many flow fields besides the straight pipe flow need to be considered. The purpose of this study is to investigate the flow characteristics of the surfactant solution in swirling pipe flow. The drag-reducing effect is estimated from the measurement of wall pressure drop and velocity profiles on various pipe sections by two-dimensional LDV (Laser Doppler Velocimeter). Since the surfactant solution has viscoelasticity, interesting flow characteristics are obtained. The decay of swirl, the vortex type and the turbulence intensity are discussed, compared with the swirling flow of the water. As the results, it is concluded that the change from Rankin’s combined vortex to the forced vortex at a more upstream section by suppressing progress of free vortex and stretch of forced vortex introduces considerable drag reduction. Oscillation of the vortex core is also investigated, and it is found that the oscillation is independent of swirl number.