Effect of Polymer Drag Reducer on Rheological Properties of Rocket Kerosene Solutions

Abstract

Adding drag reduction agent (DRA) to rocket kerosene is an effective way to reduce the pipeline resistance of rocket kerosene transportation systems. However, so far, there have been few research reports on the effect of DRA on the rheological properties of rocket kerosene solution, especially from a microscopic perspective. In this study, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the rheological properties of rocket kerosene solutions with DRAs of different chain lengths and concentrations. The results showed that the viscosity of DRA—kerosene solution is generally higher than that of pure kerosene at a low shear rate, while with an increase in shear rate, the viscosity of DRA—kerosene solution decreases rapidly and finally tends to become similar to that of pure kerosene. The shear viscosity of DRA—kerosene solution increases with an increase in chain length and concentration of polymers. Through observing the morphologic change of DRA molecules and analyzing the radius of gyration and the mean-squared end-to-end distance of polymers, it was confirmed that the rheological properties of DRA—kerosene solutions are strongly related to the degree of entanglement of polymer chains. The simulation results provide microscopic insights into the rheological behavior of DRA—kerosene solutions and clarify the intrinsic relation between the morphologic change of polymer molecules and the rheological properties of DRA—kerosene solutions.