Session: 10-04-01: Young Engineer Paper (YEP) Contest Fluids Engineering Division

Paper Number: 146499

146499 - Investigating Passive Drag Reduction Through Nature Inspired Surface Textures 

This project sought to reduce resistive drag forces on complex bodies through the implementation of biologically inspired surface textures. We accomplished this by investigating the effects of riblets on drag forces for flow over an airfoil. Our 
team conducted wind tunnel experiments and ANSYS Fluent simulations in 2D and 3D to evaluate the effectiveness of these riblets in reducing drag on an airfoil. From this research, we found that our designs could reduce drag forces by about 5% over a Reynolds number interval of 70,000 to 115,000 and up to 13% at the low Reynolds number of 45,000. This led us to recommend their implementation on small or low-speed components, as our findings can increase the efficiency of vehicles operating at moderate Reynolds numbers. 

 

 

 

 

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Presenting Author: Kenneth Niemiec Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Presenting Author Biography: Kenneth Niemiec is a recent graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has since started work as a Project Engineer at Belcan in North Berwick, Maine. Kenny is excited and proud to put his years of education to use in an engineering career and to help guide others along the way.

Authors:

Kenneth Niemiec Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Nicholas Thornton Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Aswin Gnanaskandan Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Alireza Ebadi Worcester Polytechnic Institute