Paper Title
Development of A Taylor-Couette System for Determining Skin Friction Reduction of Turbulent Nanofluid Flows

Abstract
Nanoparticles may be added to drilling fluids to reduce skin friction, reduce energy consumption, and increase life cycle of drilling equipment for an energy efficient environment in oil and gas industry. In literature, only standard viscometers were used to study viscosity and skin friction reductions effects of Nanofluids in laminar flows. No experimental studies were observed on effects of Nanoparticles on viscosity or skin friction of turbulent Nanofluid flows. For this purpose, an experimental vertical Taylor-Couette system was designed and built to measure viscosity and skin friction reduction of Nanofluids in turbulent flows. The system is made up of two concentric vertical cylinders, one from Plexiglas and another one from steel. The inner steel cylinder is rotating with a variable motor to rotational speeds of 2500 rpm. The outer Plexiglas cylinder is stationary. The system is analyzed to provide relations between the system parameters and the kinematic viscosity. Preliminary results of TiO2 Nanofluids are presented. The parameters considered are the Nanoparticles concentration and the rotational speed (RPM). Results indicate a reduction of torque measurements for all rotational speeds at different Nanoparticles concentration. These findings require further investigation and confirmation with more experimental results of different Nanofluids. Keywords - Journal Bearing; Nanoparticle; Skin Friction; Taylor-Couette System.