Numerical simulation of turbulent drag reduction using micro-bubbles

While turbulent drag reduction through the injection of micro-bubbles into a turbulent boundary layer is well established in experiments, there is a lack of corresponding supporting evidence from direct numerical simulations. Here we report on a series of numerical simulations of small bubbles seeded in a turbulent channel flow at average volume fractions of up to 8%. These results show that even for relatively large bubbles, an initial transient drag reduction can occur as bubbles disperse into the flow. Relatively small spherical bubbles will produce a sustained level of drag reduction over time.