SCALE EFFECTS IN POLYMER-SOLUTION PIPE-FLOW

Satisfactory scaling from laboratory-scale pipe-flow data to large ind ustrial pipelines is an area of practical concern in the utilization o f drag-reducing polymer solutions. From experimental data for pipes 0. 0254 m in diameter and above, it is shown that accurate scaling can be obtained using a simple, pocket-calculator method. However, pipes of say, 0.005 m and smaller provide much less accurate scaling data for l arger pipes. A detailed study of the velocity profiles in drag-reducin g flow indicates a total lack of similarity of the profiles of the ver y small pipes compared with the larger.