Wavelet analysis on the drag-reducing characteristics of turbulent channel flow with surfactant additive based on experimental data

Two-dimensional velocity fields for turbulent channel flows of water and 50 ppm CTAC/NaSal (cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride/sodium salicylate) solution were experimentally obtained by particle image velocimetry. Multi-scale decompositions of the fluctuating velocity signals were performed by two-dimensional binary orthogonal discrete wavelet to analyze the influence of surfactant additives on the multi-scale characteristics of turbulent channel flow. From the results of wavelet multi-scale decompositions, it can be observed that the quantity of coherent structures near the wall in CTAC solution flow is decreased obviously. The results of the flatness factor show that the addition of drag-reducing additives inhibits the intermittency in turbulence. By analyzing the distribution of local intermittence measure and local Reynolds shear measure, it is found that the intermittency mainly concentrates near the wall, and the intermittent region distinctly reduces in CTAC solution flow compared with that in water flow. By combining the analysis of the motion of coherent structures in turbulent channel flow, it is shown that surfactant additives mainly and distinctly impact the coherent structures near the wall, especially in the viscous layer.