Flow of drag-reducing surfactant solutions in rough pipes

The paper reports the results of experimental study of the flow of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) solutions with addition of sodium salicylate (NaSal) in the rough pipes. Measurements were performed in the range of the surfactant concentration from 200 to 400 ppm at a constant molar ratio CTAC/NaSal of 1:2. Five pipes of the relative roughness k/D varying from 1.2 × 10−2 to 5.6 × 10−2, obtained by the covering of inner surface of the pipes with glued silicon carbide particles of different size, were studied. The roughness was observed to increase the drag of flow of CTAC/NaSal solutions already at Reynolds numbers higher than 800. With increasing relative roughness k/D, the critical value of Reynolds number, at which the drag reduction disappears, was found to decrease. However, no influence of the roughness on the critical shear stress was noted. The ratio of the critical Reynolds number for rough pipes to that of hydraulically smooth pipes was independent of the surfactant concentration. The degree of drag reduction by the flow of surfactants was greater in rough pipes than in smooth pipes.