Abstract
WHETHER transition from laminar to turbulent flow is delayed in dilute drag-reducing polymer solutions, unchanged, or occurs at an earlier Reynold's number has been a vexing question since research began in this area. Using the classic Reynold's dye-streak technique, Giles and Pettit1 showed that pipe-flow turbulence was delayed by a factor of 2 or more by small additions of polymer. Similarly, Castro and Squire2 and White and McEligot3 found transition delay in small pipes from measurements of pressure fluctuations and actual drag-reduction performance. But more refined pipe-flow studies by Little et al.4 show convincing evidence for polymer solution transition earlier than for the pure solvent and this has been confirmed by laser–Doppler annemometry5. Here we show that polymer solutions in a boundary-layer flow exhibit a transition to turbulence at a lower Reynold's number than the pure water solvent.
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References
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Hoyt, J. W. & Fabula, A. G. Proc. 5th Symp. Naval Hydrodynamics 947 (1964).
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HOYT, J. Laminar-turbulent transition in polymer solutions. Nature 270, 508–509 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/270508a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/270508a0
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