To determine whether drag reduction is the result of turbulence dampening per se, the decay characteristic of a free turbulent jet was investigated. The work was suggested by recent boundary-layer studies showing that fluid drag reduction is caused by the presence of high-molecular-weight polymers in solution. The jet, having all the properties associated with turbulence except those caused by the presence of a wall, provided an ideal tool for the experiment. It was found that in a water solution of drag-reducing polymer, shear stress was reduced in the nozzle but not in the free jet. Drag reduction was therefore concluded to be a phenomenon of the wall because the character of the turbulence that is beyond the influence of the wall resembles the character of the turbulence in a free jet, which was found to be unaffected by the drag-reducing agent.
Drag-reducing fluids in a free turbulent jet
International Shipbuilding Progress ; 14 , 152 ; 158-165
01.04.1967
8 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch