EFFECT OF DRAG REDUCING ADDITIVES ON TURBULENT PULSATILE FLOW.

The use of minute quantities of DRA have been found to appreciably reduce the instantaneous wall shear stress and level of turbulence for turbulent pulsatile flow of saline in a rigid tube. These results and earlier preliminary blood flow studies, coupled with previous studies that indicate the relationship between endothelial cell damage and high wall shear stresses induced by turbulence, further demonstrate the potential usefulness of DRA for diminishing the occurrence of atheroma in the human circulatory system.