ABSTRACT
Compared with quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants with saturated alkyl chains, quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants with one double-bond in their alkyl chains, when mixed with appropriate counterions (in certain molar concentration ratios, ξ), can reach much lower effective drag-reduction temperatures, while maintaining the upper drag-reduction temperature limit of the corresponding saturated drag reducing surfactant solutions. No previous study has compared the effects of cis- vs. trans-unsaturated alkyl hydrocarbon tail configurations (oleyl vs. elaidyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride cationic surfactants at different counterion/surfactant concentration ratios on micellar nanostructures, (1)H NMR spectra and on rheological and drag-reduction behavior of their solutions. Since neither pure oleyl (cis-) nor elaidyl (trans-) trimethyl ammonium chloride surfactants are commercially available, they were synthesized and their 5mM solutions with NaSal counterion at concentrations of 5mM, 7.5mM and 12.5mM were studied.
ABSTRACT
Drag-reducing surfactant solutions are very sensitive to shear. Shear can induce nanostructural transitions which affect drag reduction effectiveness and rheological properties. Literature reports on the effects of shear on different micellar solutions are inconsistent. In this paper, the effects of shear on three cationic drag-reducing surfactant solutions each with very different nanostructures and rheological behaviors, Arquad 16-50/sodium salicylate (NaSal) (5 mM/5 mM) (has thread-like micelles, shear-induced structure and large first normal stress (N(1))), Arquad S-50/NaSal (5 mM/12.5 mM) (has branched micelles, no shear-induced structure and first normal stress is about zero) and Arquad 16-50/sodium 3,4-dimethyl-benzoate (5 mM/5 mM) (has vesicles and thread-like micelles, shear-induced structure and high first normal stress (N(1))) are studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), together with their rheological properties, drag reduction behavior and nanostructures by cryogenic-temperature transmission electron microscopy(cryo-TEM). The differences in the rheological behavior and the SANS data of the solutions are explained by the different responses of the nanostructures to shear based on a two-step response to shear.
