Numerical Study of V-Shaped Microgrooves Location on an Aerodynamic Surface for Drag Reduction

Kahalian, Mohammad Javad; Kamalimoghadam, Ramin; Bahman Jahromi, Iman; Najafi, Mahmoud

doi:10.22034/JSST.2025.1521

Numerical Study of V-Shaped Microgrooves Location on an Aerodynamic Surface for Drag Reduction

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

Mohammad Javad Kahalian ¹

Ramin Kamalimoghadam ²

Iman Bahman Jahromi ²

Mahmoud Najafi ³

¹ Aerospace Research Institute, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran.

² Aerospace Research Institute, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran

³ Mathematical Science Department, Kent State University, USA

10.22034/JSST.2025.1521

Abstract

One important passive technique for drag reduction is the use of microstructured surfaces. In recent years, the advantages of this method have led some airlines to reduce their fuel consumption by installing microstructured films on aircraft. To understand the physics governing microstructures, this article investigates the effect of V-shaped transverse microgrooves on the NACA 8-H-12 airfoil. For this purpose, grooves with a base and height of 150 μm are placed transversely at eight different locations on the airfoil surface and their effects are investigated at zero angle of attack (AoA) and at velocities of 35, 65, and 100 m/s. The results show that vortices trapped within the transverse microgrooves reduce viscous drag by decreasing shear stress magnitude near the peaks and reversing its direction within the valleys. However, the microgrooves also generate pressure drag due to pressure gradients created within and around the structures. The combined effects of these changes in viscous and pressure drag determine the overall change in total drag. Total drag can either increase or decrease depending on the microgrooved surface area, its location on the airfoil, and the freestream velocity. The maximum drag reduction observed in this study was approximately 6%, achieved with two 200 mm microgrooved surfaces located mid-chord on both the suction and pressure sides at 35 m/s.

Keywords

Microstructure

Drag reduction

Transverse flow

NACA 8-H-12

Subjects

Space New Technologies

Article Title Persian

Numerical Study of V-Shaped Microgrooves Location on an Aerodynamic Surface for Drag Reduction

Authors Persian

محمدجواد کحالیان ¹

رامین کمالی مقدم ²

ایمان بهمن جهرمی ²

محمود نجفی ³

¹ پژوهشگاه هوافضا، وزارت علوم، تحقیقات و فناوری، تهران، ایران

² پژوهشگاه هوافضا، وزارت علوم، تحقیقات و فناوری، تهران، ایران

³ دانشکده علوم ریاضی، دانشگاه ایالتی کنت، امریکا

Abstract Persian

Keywords Persian

Microstructure

Drag reduction

Transverse flow

NACA 8-H-12

[1] G. D. Bixler and B. Bhushan, “Fluid Drag Reduction with Shark-Skin Riblet Inspired Microstructured Surfaces,” Advanced Functional Materials, vol. 23, no. 36, pp. 4507-4528, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201203683.

[2] E. M. Fayyadh and N. M. Mahdi, “Effect of riblets geometry on drag reduction,” in International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Volume 7: Fluids and Heat Transfer, Parts A, B, C, and D, Houston, Texas, USA, 2012, pp. 87-100, https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2012-85228.

[3] A. C. Kah Poh, C. See Yuan, A. K. Mat Yamin, A. J. Jalaluddin, I. S. Ishak, and S. Mansor, “Effect of surface roughness on drag of loggerhead carapace,” Jurnal Mekanikal, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 37–48, 2018.

[4] T. S. Surwase and D. R. Vaidya, “Study of effect of surface roughness on drag,” in Mechanical Engineering PG Conference, MAEER’s MIT, United

States, pp. 149–154, 2015.

[5] M. WALSH, “Turbulent boundary layer drag reduction using riblets,” in 20th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Orlando, FL, USA, 1982. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1982-169.

[6] M. J. Walsh, “Drag characteristics of V-groove and transverse curvature riblets,” in Symposium on Viscous Drag Reduction, Dallas, TX, 1979, Paper 19810042106.

[7] M. J. Walsh, “Riblets as a viscous drag reduction technique,” AIAA Journal, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 485-486, 1983, https://doi.org/10.2514/3.60126.

[8] M. J. Walsh, “Effect of detailed surface geometry on riblet drag reduction performance,” Journal AIRCRAFT, vol. 27, no. 6, 1990, https://doi.org/10.2514/3.25323.

[9] D. W. Bechert, M. Bruse, and W. Hage, “Experiments with Three-Dimensional Riblets as an Idealized Model of Shark Skin,” Experiments in Fluids, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 403–412, 2000, https://doi.org/10.1007/s003480050400.

[10] D. W. Bechert, M. Bruse, W. Hage, J. G. T. Van Der Hoeven, and G. Hoppe, “Experiments on drag-reducing surfaces and their optimization with an adjustable geometry,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 338, pp. 59–87, 1997, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112096004673.

[11] L. Djenidi and R. A. Antonia, “Laser Doppler anemometer measurements of turbulent boundary layer over a riblet surface,” AIAA Journal, vol. 34, no. 5, 1996, https://doi.org/10.2514/3.13180.

[12] J. R. Debisschop and F. T. M. Nieuwstadt, “Turbulent boundary layer in an adverse pressure gradient: Effectiveness of riblets,” AIAA Journal, vol. 34, no. 5, 1996, https://doi.org/10.2514/3.13170.

[13] L. Duan and M. Choudhari, “Effects of riblets on skin friction and heat transfer in high-speed turbulent boundary layers,” in 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, 2012, Paper. 2012-1108, https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2012-1108.

[14] D. C. Chu and G. E. Karniadakis, “A direct numerical simulation of laminar and turbulent flow over riblet-mounted surfaces,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 250, pp.1-42, 1993, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112093001363.

[15] M. Ahmadi Baloutaki, R. Carriveau, and D. S. K. Ting, “Effect of free-stream turbulence on flow characteristics over a transversely-grooved surface,” Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, vol. 51, pp. 56-70, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2013.07.001.

[16] B. Wang, J. Wang, G. Zhou, and D. Chen, “Drag Reduction by Microvortexes in Transverse Microgrooves,” Advances in Mechanical Engineering, vol. 6, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/734012.

[17] S. Sutardi and W. A. Widodo, “Analysis of Turbulence Characteristics in the Laminar Sub-Layer Region of a Perturbed Turbulent Boundary Layer,” Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 836, pp. 115-120, 2016, https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.836.115.

[18] S. J. Lee and S. H. Lee, “Flow field analysis of a turbulent boundary layer over a riblet surface,” Experiments in Fluids, vol. 30, pp. 153–166, 2001, https://doi.org/10.1007/s003480000150.

[19] E. Güler, E. Pınar, and T. Durhasan, “The effect of riblets on the aerodynamic performance of NACA 0018 airfoil,” Cukurova University Journal of the Faculty of Engineering, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 119–132, 2024, https://doi.org/10.21605/cukurovaumfd.1459405.

[20] Z. LI et al., “Numerical study on influence of protrusion heights on Reynolds stress and viscous stress variations in turbulent vortical structures,” Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 59-71, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2024.05.019.

[21] Z. Li et al., “A numerical study on the influence of transverse grooves on the aerodynamic performance of micro air vehicles airfoils,” Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 22, 2023, Art. no. 12371, https://doi.org/10.3390/app132212371.

[22] M. R. Pakatchian, J. Rocha, and L. Li, “Advances in riblets design,” Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 19, 2023, Art. no. 10893, https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910893.

[23] C. Bliamis, Z. Vlahostergios, D. Misirlis, and K. Yakinthos, “Numerical simulation of blade-shaped riblets using LES based methods,” Chemical Engineering Transactions, vol. 103, pp. 481–486, 2023, https://doi.org/10.3303/CET23103081.

[24] S. Varoutis, S. Naris, V. Hauer, C. Day, and D. Valougeorgis, “Computational and experimental study of gas flows through long channels of various cross sections in the whole range of the Knudsen number,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 89–100, 2009, https://doi.org/10.1116/1.3043463.

[25] Z. Wu, S. Li, M. Liu, S. Wang, H. Yang and X. Liang, “Numerical research on the turbulent drag reduction mechanism of a transverse groove structure on an airfoil blade,” Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 1024-1035, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1080/19942060.2019.1665101

[26] M. E. Benhamza and F. Belaid, “Computation of turbulent channel flow with variable spacing riblets,” Mechanika, vol. 79 , no. 5, pp. 36–41, 2009.

[27] S. N. A. Yusof, Y. Asako, N. A. C. Sidik, S. B. Mohamed, and W. M. A. A. Japar, “A short review on RANS turbulence models,” CFD Letters, vol. 12, no. 11, pp. 83-96, 2020, https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.12.11.8396.

[28] F. Moukalled, L. Mangani, and M. Darwish, The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Springer, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16874-6.

[29] P. A. Costa Rocha, H. H. Barbosa Rocha, F. O. Moura Carneiro, M. E. Vieira da Silva, and A. V. Bueno, “K-ω SST (shear stress transport) turbulence model calibration: A case study on a small scale horizontal axis wind turbine,” Energy, vol. 65, pp. 412-418, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.11.050.

[30] N. Gregory and C. L. O’Reilly, “Low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of NACA 0012 aerofoil section, including the effects of upper-surface roughness simulating hoar frost,” AERADE Aeronautical Research Council, LONDON, Rep. R & M. No. 3726, 1970.

[31] J. D. Anderson, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Companies, 1991.

[32] Z. Li, Y. Zuo, H. Lu, L. He, and B. Meng, “Numerical study on the influence of top and valley shape of the transverse groove on the drag reduction rate,” Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 741-754, 2023, https://doi.org/10.15632/jtam-pl/171470.