Hayder A Abdul Bari, Emma Suali and Zulkafli Hassan
Keywords: DRA, drag reduction, fibers interaction, turbulent flows, fiber flexibility.
Abstract: In the present study, Fumed silica powders were presented as a new effective Drag Reducing Agent. The effects of using various concentrations of fiber and flow rate on increasing the flow in pipelines were investigated in a fully developed turbulent flow. The effects of pipe length to pipe diameter (L/D) on drag reduction were also investigated. A built experimental rig with different diameters of PVC pipes was used in order to investigate the performance of fumed silica fiber as drag reducing agent. The experimental results showed that the fume silica have a great ability to act as a good drag reducing agent in aqueous media. The addition of 600 ppm of the fumed silica to the main flow was enough to reach a maximum reading of the percentage drag reduction up to 40 % this maximum percentage was achieved in 59 L/D at Re equal to 22470. The drag reduction decreases as the Re exceeds 22470. These experimental results show that the fumed silica powder performed as a good DRA.
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