Turbulence structure of polymer turbulent channel flow with and without macromolecular polymer structures

Abstract

The presence of macromolecular polymer structures in a fully developed turbulent channel flow has been shown to substantially increase the drag reduction compared to non-structured polymer flows. This study presents a detailed analysis of experimental data obtained using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) to develop insights into the effects of the presence of macromolecular polymer structures on the turbulence characteristics of a channel flow. It is argued that polymer structures could contribute to minimizing the interaction between the inner and outer regions of the flow, which, in turn, can contribute to the modification of the coherent structure of the turbulence.