Steady and dynamic shear properties of non-aqueous drag-reducing polymer solutions

Abstract

The steady and dynamic shear properties of two non-aqueous drag-reducers (a medium molecular weight polyisobutylene and a commercial organic drag-reducer) in kerosene solutions over a wide range of temperature and concentration were presented. The intrinsic and zero-shear viscosity results were used to identify the concentrate regimes of these solutions. A characteristic time constant λ₀, which was based on the spring-bead model for dilute solutions, was employed as the scaling parameter for both steady-shear and dynamic data over a wide range of concentration and temperature. The inadequacy of the Graessley reduced-variable method in the dilute region was illustrated. The shear-thinning behaviour of these polymer solutions could be described by the Carreau model. The dynamic data followed the Zimm and Rouse-like behaviour in the low and high frequency limits. The Cox-Merz rule was obeyed in the low shear rate and frequency regions. The Carreau and the zero-frequency Maxwell time constants appeared to be related to λ₀ by a constant factor over a wide range of polymer concentrations. The finding provides a method for extrapolating viscoelastic information into the drag reduction regime, and could be useful for interpretation of drag reduction results.