QS Energy Inc (QSEP)

[Myrka]

Mr Sano

Tao is saying this is a huge discovery in reducing turbulence and the fact that they are claiming to maintain a laminar flow at Re = 6000 is pretty bold.

Dr. Tao

When a strong electric field is applied along the flow direction in a small section of pipeline, the field polarizes and aggregates the particles suspended inside the base liquid into short chains along the flow direction. Such aggregation breaks the rotational symmetry and makes the fluid viscosity anisotropic. Along the flow direction, the viscosity is significantly reduced; thus the flow along the pipeline is enhanced. In the directions perpendicular to the flow, the viscosity is substantially increased, effectively suppressing the turbulence.

Last week I posted the research from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Experiments have also been performed to examine the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in pipes that are lengthwise-roughened. The flow remains laminar at much higher Reynolds numbers. This behavior is expected since the rough walls on the pipe introduce a boundary layer on the scale of the wall roughness. Because viscous drag is exerted primarily in this small layer the stress within the body of the pipe is reduced. Thus the flow remains laminar at faster flow rates. (One might draw an analogy between this behavior and that of putting sawdust on a shuffleboard table. A rock smoothly glides over the sawdust, whereas it might skip at the same velocity if in direct contact with the smooth table surface.) As in the case of the smooth pipe, when the viscosity of the two fluids differs, it appears that the interface is stabilized by the presence of one of the fluids being in laminar flow.

After the oil passes through the AOT, the oil in the center of the pipeline is less viscous while the oil on the boundaries is more viscous thus creating the lengthwise-roughened pipeline condition. The condition described in the above analogy.

Dr. Tao

For untreated crude oil, the flow inside the pipeline is turbulent as the Reynolds number exceeds 2300. However, for ER treated oil, the flow remains laminar even when the Reynolds number reaches 6000.