Drag Reduction by Polymers in Wall Bounded Turbulence

We elucidate the mechanism of drag reduction by polymers in turbulent wall-bounded flows: while momentum is produced at a fixed rate by the forcing, polymer stretching results in the suppres­sion of momentum flux to the wall. On the basis of the equations of fluid mechanics we develop the phenomenology of the “maximum drag reduction asymptote” which is the maximum drag reduction attained by polymers. Based on Newtonian information only we demonstrate the existence of drag reduction, and with one experimental parameter we reach agreement with the experimental measurements.