Publication Date:
2011-08-19
Description:
A comparison is made of the effect of small changes in v-groove geometry, for several riblet films applicable for drag reduction to commercial transport aircraft, whose nominal v-groove dimension is of the order of 0.002 inch. The films were tested in a water towing-tank facility. The results obtained indicate that small riblet peak geometry variations can result in a deterioration of riblet drag-reduction efficacy of as much as 40 percent, while interriblet valley curvature was found not to be critical to riblet performance.
Keywords:
AERODYNAMICS
Type:
Journal of Aircraft (ISSN 0021-8669); 27; 572
Format:
text