Drag-reduction Effective of SBR in Horizontal Circular Pipe Setup

Nearly 60 years ago the tremendous reductions in wall shear stress caused by the addition of small amount of linear macromolecules to a flowing fluid by the additive. Therefore the application of this phenomenon can be found in many areas of the oil and gas industry. In this study the effect of presence of a drag reducing agent (DRA) on the pressure drop in flow of crude oil is investigated. An experimental set-up with 1.27 cm OD flow loop including 5 m straight tubing is used. The employing DRA is a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). The percent drag reduction (%DR) is calculated using the obtained experimental data, in presence of the DRA. The results show that addition of DRA could be effective up to some doses of DRA. A %DR of about 40 is obtained for some experimental conditions

Keywords:

Drag reduction , Styrene-butadiene , Turbulent flow , Non-Newtonian fluids , Crude oil