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arXiv · 1706.09934

Substantial drag reduction in turbulent flow using liquid-infused surfaces

Tyler Van Buren·Alexander Smits
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Abstract

Experiments are presented that demonstrate how liquid-infused surfaces can reduce turbulent drag significantly in Taylor-Couette flow. The test liquid was water, and the test surface was composed of square microscopic grooves measuring 100 $\mu$m to 800 $\mu$m, filled with alkane liquids with viscosities from 0.3 to 1.4 times that of water. We achieve drag reduction exceeding 35\%, four times higher than previously reported for liquid-infused surfaces in turbulent flow. The level of drag reduction increased with viscosity ratio, groove width, fluid area fraction, and Reynolds number. The optimum groove width was given by $w^+ \approx 35$.

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Tyler Van Buren, Alexander Smits. 2017-06-29. Substantial drag reduction in turbulent flow using liquid-infused surfaces. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2017.503

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