MATHEMATICAL MODEL TO INVESTIGATE THE DRAG REDUCTION OF KEROSENE WITH POLYMER UNDER TURBULENT FLOW

Abstract

This paper present a mathematical study on drag reduction by polymer additive such
as poly isobutylene (PIB) with kerosene in turbulent pipe flow by using computational fluid
dynamic commercial package program (COMSOL 4.4) solution. Theoretically the
computational study was used to calculate the pressure drop in two dimensions geometric
model with 6m length and 80 mm width as a diameter of the pipe, Geometric shape has been
drawing by tools of the program windows, and to simulated the flow region mathematically
the flow region is divide into very small parts (mesh generation). The model that used in the
mathematical modelling method was (k-?( mathematical turbulent model to study the
internal pipe flow properties. The continuity and momentum equations and two k-? model
equations have been solved by the program to obtain the theoretical results. There variables
that used in the theoretical study were effective density, effective viscosity, inlet velocity,
and outlet pressure. The boundary condition was inlet and outlet velocity, temperature, and
pressure of flow, and the velocity (u=0) at the pipe wall. The theoretical calculations show
that the velocity and drag reduction percentage increases with polymer concentration and
volume flow rate increasing where maximum DR% is 15.8% at volume flow rate 500 ??min
with polymer concentration 100 ppm, pressure drop decreases with polymer concentration
increasing. Friction factor decreases with polymer concentration increased, also shear stress
decrease with polymer concentration increasing.