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- Title
Laminar-turbulent transition in polymer solutions.
- Authors
HOYT, J. W.
- 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.
- Publication
Nature, 1977, Vol 270, Issue 5637, p508
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/270508a0