THE EFFECT OF HETEROGENEOUS DRAG-REDUCING SURFACTANT IN DRAG AND HEAT-TRANSFER REDUCTION IN CRUDE-OIL SYSTEMS

Pilot scale experiments have been performed to study the effect of a h eterogeneous surfactant into the drag and heat transfer coefficient in crude oil pipelines. The effects of surfactant concentration, pipe di ameter, Reynolds number and temperature were studied in this research program. An extensive set of data was obtained for heat transfer and f riction coefficients for a heterogeneous surfactant known as MDR-2000. A wide range of Reynolds numbers were covered and experiments were co nducted for many different Prandtl numbers. All drag and heat transfer reduction experiments were performed in the same installation using t he same measurement techniques which facilitates the assessment of the trends caused by the various parameters studied. Typical results show ed that the friction coefficient was reduced by half at the optimum co ncentration. While, the heat transfer coefficient was reduced even mor e dramatically.