Direct numerical simulations of the drag degradation mechanism in channel flow over trapezoidal riblets

Abstract

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flows with trapezoidal riblets were conducted to analyze the characteristics of the near-wall flow structures in the drag reduction, drag neutral, and drag increase regimes. The trapezoidal riblets possess a tip angle of α =15°and a height–to-width ratio of k/s = 0.335 for cross-section-area based sizes lg+=Ag+= 11.7, 17, 23.2, and 29 at a friction Reynolds number of Reτ=395. The Reynolds stresses are compared with the smooth wall case, and it is observed that the intensity of the turbulent activities in the boundary layer is diminished for drag reduction riblet and enhanced for drag increase riblets. The roughness sublayer indicates that riblet only directly affect the near-wall region of the flow. By applying the Fukagata, Iwamoto, and Kasagi (FIK) identity in Phys. Fluids, vol. 14, 2002, L73, it is found that the modification of the overall drag is mainly due to the turbulent shear stress. The variation of the dispersive stress is only evident within the roughness sublayer for the drag increasing riblets. The enhanced mean wall-shear stress in the valley is responsible for the drag increase for oversized riblets. The production and convection terms of the turbulent stress reveal that although the total drag contribution is trivial, the convection inside the riblet valleys caused by secondary flow is crucial for the redistribution of the turbulent stress and drag increase of oversized riblets.