Flow of Surfactant Solutions Past a Circular Cylinder
To clarify the effects of surfactant solutions on the drag coefficient of a circular cylinder, the flow past a circular cylinder was investigated in the Reynolds number range of 10 to 7,000 by measuring the drag and by visualizing flow. In addition, the flow pattern was simulated numerically to examine the effect of the viscoelasticity of the surfactant solution. Six cylinders with diameters between 2 and 20 mm were tested, and the ratio of length to diameter (l/d) was 12~48. The test surfactant solutions were aqueous solutions of oleyl-methyldihydroxyethyl ammonium chloride (trade name: Ethoquad O/12) in the concentration range of 50 to 200 ppm and sodium salicylate was added as a counterion. It was clarified that the drag coefficient of surfactant solutions increases comparing with that of tap water in the Reynolds number range of 1,000 < Re 3,000 and drag reduction occurs when Re > 3,000 for a cylinder diameter of 20 mm. The maximum drag reduction ratio was approximately 55% for 200 ppm solution at Re = 7,000. The flow visualization results showed that the drag of surfactant solutions increases because of the existence of the wide stagnant zone around the cylinder. This zone disappeared in the Reynolds number range in which drag reduction occurred. In addition, the width of the wake of surfactant solutions decreases compared with that of tap water, and the Ka´rma´n vortex street is not found. These effects seem to be due to the elasticity caused by the micellar network in surfactant solution.