Drag Reduction Properties of Nanofluids in Microchannels

An experimental investigation of the drag reduction (DR) individualities in different sized micro channels was carried out with nanopowder additives (NAs) (bismuth(III) oxide, iron(II/III) oxide, silica, and titanium(IV) oxide) water suspensions/fluids. The primary objective was to evaluate the effects of various concentrations of NAs with different microchannel sizes (50, 100, and 200 µm) on the pressure drop of a system in a single phase. A critical concentration was observed with all the NAs, above which increasing the concentration was not effective. Based on the experimental results, the optimum DR percentages were calculated. The optimum percentages were found to be as follows: bismuth III oxides: ~65% DR, 200 ppm and a microchannel size of 100 µm; iron II/III oxides: ~57% DR, 300 ppm, and a microchannel size of 50 µm; titanium IV oxides: ~57% DR, 200 ppm, and a microchannel size of 50 µm, and silica: 55% DR, 200 ppm, and a microchannel size of 50 µm

Reviews on drag reducing polymers

Polymers are effective drag reducers owing to their ability to suppress the formation of turbulent eddies at low concentrations. Existing drag reduction methods can be generally classified into additive and non-additive techniques. The polymer additive based method is categorized under additive techniques. Other drag reducing additives are fibers and surfactants. Non-additive techniques are associated with the applications of different types of surfaces: riblets, dimples, oscillating walls, compliant surfaces and microbubbles. This review focuses on experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling studies on polymer-induced drag reduction in turbulent regimes. Other drag reduction methods are briefly addressed and compared to polymer-induced drag reduction. This paper also reports on the effects of polymer additives on the heat transfer performances in laminar regime. Knowledge gaps and potential research areas are identified. It is envisaged that polymer additives may be a promising solution in addressing the current limitations of nanofluid heat transfer applications