Flow of Dilute-Polymer (Polyox WSR-301) Solutions About Circular Cylinders.

Flow of the aqueous solutions of Polyox WSR-301, with concentrations of 1 ppm to 100 ppm, and of the pure-solvent tap-and distilled water about circular cylinders of diameters 0.5 in. to 1.97 in. was investigated. Direct and pressure integrated drag coefficients, pressure distribution, frequency spectrum, turbulence distribution, etc. were determined for flows of solutions at all levels of degradation and compared with the reference measurements made in pure-solvent flows. During the course of the investigation, a critically degraded solution was observed to cause, at a particular Re, an unforseen instability in the boundary layer and in all the other flow characteristics. This instability which most easily manifested itself in the form of an abrupt drag-force jump from a high subcritical value to a low supercritical vlaue, became the central issue in the investigation. Author