SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

中国化学工程学报 ›› 2023, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (4): 290-298.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2022.07.015

• Full Length Article • 上一篇    下一篇

Nanoparticle-induced drag reduction for polyacrylamide in turbulent flow with high Reynolds numbers

Xiaoping Li1, Jiaxin Pan1, Jinwen Shi1, Yanlin Chai1, Songwei Hu1, Qiaorong Han2, Yanming Zhang2, Xianwen Li2, Dengwei Jing1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering & International Research Center for Renewable Energy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China;
    2. Oil and Gas Technology Research Institute of Petrochina Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi'an 710018, China
  • 收稿日期:2022-03-09 修回日期:2022-07-06 出版日期:2023-04-28 发布日期:2023-06-13
  • 通讯作者: Jinwen Shi,E-mail:jinwen_shi@mail.xjtu.edu.cn;Dengwei Jing,E-mail:dwjing@xjtu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51961130386) the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (52025061). This work was also supported by the China Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Nanoparticle-induced drag reduction for polyacrylamide in turbulent flow with high Reynolds numbers

Xiaoping Li1, Jiaxin Pan1, Jinwen Shi1, Yanlin Chai1, Songwei Hu1, Qiaorong Han2, Yanming Zhang2, Xianwen Li2, Dengwei Jing1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering & International Research Center for Renewable Energy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China;
    2. Oil and Gas Technology Research Institute of Petrochina Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi'an 710018, China
  • Received:2022-03-09 Revised:2022-07-06 Online:2023-04-28 Published:2023-06-13
  • Contact: Jinwen Shi,E-mail:jinwen_shi@mail.xjtu.edu.cn;Dengwei Jing,E-mail:dwjing@xjtu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51961130386) the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (52025061). This work was also supported by the China Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

摘要: Although having been increasingly studied, there is still controversy as to when the addition of nanoparticles could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducer and particularly what is the underlying mechanism from the fluid dynamics viewpoint. The drag reduction effects of adding SiO2 nanoparticles to various polymer polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions were examined in this work. The optimal combination of SiO2 nanoparticles with cationic polyacrylamide was confirmed. Interestingly, the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles to cationic polyacrylamide solution was shown to be quite efficient for reducing drag, but only at higher flow rates with Reynolds numbers more than 6000, below which the nanoparticle addition is even negative. The addition of SiO2 nanoparticles to the PAM solution is supposed to play a dual role. The first is an increase in flow resistance caused by the Brownian motion of nanoparticles, while the second is a decrease in flow resistance caused by acting as nodes to protect the polymer chain from shear-induced breaking under high shear action. At optimal nanoparticle concentration and under higher Reynolds numbers, the later effect is dominant, which could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducers. Our work should serve as a guide for the application of natural gas fracturing, where the flow rate is frequently very high.

关键词: Drag reduction, SiO2 nanoparticle, Cationic polymer, Brownian motion

Abstract: Although having been increasingly studied, there is still controversy as to when the addition of nanoparticles could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducer and particularly what is the underlying mechanism from the fluid dynamics viewpoint. The drag reduction effects of adding SiO2 nanoparticles to various polymer polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions were examined in this work. The optimal combination of SiO2 nanoparticles with cationic polyacrylamide was confirmed. Interestingly, the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles to cationic polyacrylamide solution was shown to be quite efficient for reducing drag, but only at higher flow rates with Reynolds numbers more than 6000, below which the nanoparticle addition is even negative. The addition of SiO2 nanoparticles to the PAM solution is supposed to play a dual role. The first is an increase in flow resistance caused by the Brownian motion of nanoparticles, while the second is a decrease in flow resistance caused by acting as nodes to protect the polymer chain from shear-induced breaking under high shear action. At optimal nanoparticle concentration and under higher Reynolds numbers, the later effect is dominant, which could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducers. Our work should serve as a guide for the application of natural gas fracturing, where the flow rate is frequently very high.

Key words: Drag reduction, SiO2 nanoparticle, Cationic polymer, Brownian motion