THE INFLUENCE OF DRAG-REDUCING ADDITIVES ON CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS IN PIPELINE FLOW

The present paper investigates two samples of crude oil - water emulsions, in presence of drag reduction surfactants, in order to determine the pressure loss in pipes, respectively to compute the Darcy coefficient, lambda. The experiments are performed at constant flow rate and the corresponding pressure differences between two sections of a straight pipe (diameter d = 26 mm) are measured with a sensitive pressure transducer. Both stationary and transitory flow regimes are investigated, as function of the samples rheology. Experimental values of the Darcy coefficient in the domain 100 < Re < 10,000 fit the theoretical formulas and put in evidence the additive influence on pressure loss.