Turbulent drag reduction characteristics of amylopectin and its derivative

Using amylopectin (AP) and a derivative, we systematically investigated their turbulent drag reduction characteristics and shear stability. The expected shear stability of polysaccharides as drag reducing and flocculating agents triggered our study on structural modification of AP. For this purpose, we prepared a derivative of AP, viz. AP grafted with polyacrylamide (GA), in which the granular form of AP powder (≈10 μm) changed into a mixture of larger fibrils and lumps. Using a rotating-disk apparatus, we measured the shaft torque and calculated the turbulent drag reduction (DR) efficiency under various experimental conditions, i.e., different polymer concentration, rotation speed, and temperature. Contrary to AP, GA showed relatively high DR efficiencies (27%) and very strong shear resistance.