Turbulent Boundary Layer Control with Multi-Scale Riblet Design

Motivated by the saturation of drag reduction effectiveness at high non-dimensional riblet spacing in turbulent boundary layer flows, this study seeks to investigate the influence of a secondary blade riblet structure on flow statistics and friction drag reduction effectiveness in comparison to the widely explored single-scale blade riblet surface. The turbulent flow dynamics and drag reduction performance over single- and multi-scale blade riblet surfaces were experimentally examined in a flow visualization channel across various non-dimensional riblet spacings. The shear velocity was quantified by the streamwise velocity distributions from the logarithmic layer via planar Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements, whereas the near-wall flow dynamics were characterized by a Micro Particle Image Velocimetry (micro-PIV) system. The results highlighted that although both riblet surfaces exhibited similar drag reduction performances at low non-dimensional riblet spacings, the presence of a secondary riblet blade structure can effectively extend the drag reduction region with the non-dimensional riblet spacing up to 32 and achieve approximately 10% lower friction drag in comparison to the single-scale riblet surface when the non-dimensional riblet spacing increases to 44.2. The average number of uniform momentum zones (UMZs) on the multi-scaled blade riblet has also reduced by 9% compared to the single-scaled riblet which indicates the reduction of strong shear layers within a turbulent boundary layer. The inspection of near-wall flow statistics demonstrated that at high non-dimensional riblet spacings, the multi-scale riblet surface produces reduced wall-normal velocity fluctuations and Reynolds shear stresses. Quadrant analysis revealed that this design allows for the suppression of both the sweep and ejection events. This experimental result demonstrated that surfaces with spanwise variations of riblet heights have the potential to maintain drag reduction effectiveness across a wider range of flow speeds.