EPSRC supported EngD: Computational modelling of drag reduction agents (DRAs) in pipe flow.
University of Birmingham
About the Project
Drag-reducing agents (DRAs) are chemicals for improving transport when pumping fluids of
high Reynolds numbers, which consumes 10 to 25 percent of the global energy demand
(Napierala (2022) Energies 15(3), 799). Being introduced at the upstream of a pipeline, DRAs
can reduce the drag up to 80%, leading to a significant energy reduction (Xi (2019) Phys. Fluids
31, 121302), utilising less infrastructure, and decreasing the corresponding carbon footprint.
The design principle of DRAs is to produce molecules with exceptional chain length. However,
they undergo performance degradation due to the scission of their polymeric chains when
they are subject to high turbulent shearing in the pipeline. The aim of this project is to develop
a computational platform to simulate DRAs in a turbulent pipe flow to analyse the shear stress
effects on the performance of DRAs along the pipeline.
This project will investigate the effect of different DRAs in improving flow behaviour in pipe
flow by developing a turbulent model for a straight pipe. The turbulence model will be based
on a robust Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) (Niazi et al. (2024) Chem. Eng. Sci., 285,
119612) or a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) (Li et al. (2020) Comp. Mod. Eng. Sci. 125, 541)
model. We will develop and validate the model for Newtonian fluids and commercially
available DRAs such as poly alpha olefins (PAOs). Subsequently, we will expand the model to
non-Newtonian fluids using appropriate constitutive models to match rheological properties.
In the next step, we will develop our model to include more complex geometries and
components such as bends, reducers, expansions, etc. under different operating conditions.
Finally, we will develop a mathematical model to correlate the shear stress with the available
DRA performance at different pipe sections.
It is expected that developing a computational tool for modelling drag-reduction in turbulent
flow could reveal the underpinning mechanisms for the scission of polymeric chains of DRAs
and inform our industrial collaborators with an in-depth understanding on the role of
turbulence shear on DRA efficiency to design and formulate more effective and sustainable
solutions.
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