Synergistic Effects in Turbulent Drag Reduction by Riblets and Polymer Additives

Drag reduction was investigated for the combined system of polymer additives and a riblet pipe. The riblet grooves were V-shaped, the spacing of which was 1.3 mm and the height of which was 1.01 mm. For higher h+, a triangular riblet system including other geometries increases the drag to levels similar to those of normal transient roughness. This drag increase was generally given as a function of h+. The polymer additives were Aronfloc N-110 and Separan AP-30. The critical shear stress τ*, at which N-110 started the drag reduction, was approximately eight times higher than τ* for AP-30. In the combined system, the synergistic drag reduction for higher h+ was discussed under the assumption that the additives suppressed the drag increase resulting from riblets. Since the additives thicken a wall layer covering the region from a viscous sublayer to a buffer layer, the relative height of h to this wall layer thickness is lowered. In addition, the flow enhancement due to additives relatively suppresses the riblet-induced drag increase. The analysis based on velocity profiles indicated that these effects can produce synergistic drag reduction for higher h+.