Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

"The effects of polymer chain flexibility, molecular weight and entanglement capacity, and of polymer solution concentration on drag reduction in nonpolar solvents were studied in this investigation. Three samples of polydimethyl siloxane in toluene, five samples of polyethylene oxide in benzene, two samples of cis-polyisoprene in toluene, trans-polyisoprene in toluene, cis-polybutadiene in toluene, ethyl cellulose in toluene and a copolymer of epichlorohydrin and polyethylene oxide in toluene were studied. Molecular weights of all polymers were estimated from intrinsic viscosity, except for the molecular weight of the copolymer which was given by the manufacturer. Turbulent and laminar flow pressure drop data were obtained in four capillary tubes (0.107, 0.0642, 0.0328 and 0.0104 inch ID) for all the polymer-solvent systems. Turbulent flow pressure drop data for some of the above polymer-solvent systems were also obtained in the pipe flow unit (2.0, 1.0 and 0.51 inch ID). For a given tube, at lower concentrations the normal transition region appeared between laminar and turbulent regions; as the concentration increased, the transition tended to disappear. At constant solution concentration, the transition region tended to disappear as the tube diameter decreased...Correlations were obtained for estimating the amount of drag reduction for "dilute" and "concentration" solutions. Both correlations were tested with the polymer-solvent systems studied in this investigation and with data obtained from literature...The effect of degradation on drag reduction was more noticeable at lower concentrations than at higher concentrations. This suggests that the absolute rate of molecular degradation may have been approximately the same for all concentrations of any polymer whose wall shear stresses (or shear rates) were of the same magnitude at any given flow rate. In the dilute solutions a significant number of the effective molecules were degraded while in the more concentrated solutions, the same amount of degradation had a much smaller effect on the drag reducing capacity of the solutions"--Abstract, page i-iii.

Advisor(s)

Patterson, G. K. (Gary Kent), 1939-

Committee Member(s)

Strunk, Mailand R., 1919-2008
Ho, C. Y. (Chung You), 1933-1988
Davis, Robert L.
Mayhan, Kenneth G.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering

Sponsor(s)

Petroleum Research Fund
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

1968

Pagination

ix, 159 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-157).

Rights

© 1968 Gin Chain Liaw, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Drags (Hydrography)Polymers -- Structure -- AnalysisSolventsFluid dynamics

Thesis Number

T 2184

Print OCLC #

6000768

Electronic OCLC #

835620150

Download

Share

 
COinS