Experimental Investigations on Manufacturing Different-Shaped Bio-Inspired Drag-Reducing Morphologies and Hydrodynamic Testing

Abstract

Fascinating sharkskin effect has drawn so many attentions in the recent several decades, and it been becoming more well-known since the Olympic Games in 2000, and there were many athletes wearing sharkskin swimming suit to obtain the good grades. Biological sharkskin is all covered by the tiny and stiff scales, and there are microgrooves sitting on them, which can protrude out of the viscous sublayer and reduce the wall friction. However, sharkskin effect is the imperative consequence of nature selection in a long time, which enable shark fit the living surroundings perfectly, and for expanding its application in more fields, it should be adjusted or deformed. In this research, experimental investigations on manufacturing different-shaped sharkskin morphologies are performed and the hydrodynamic drag reduction testing is conducted, the results show that deformed sharkskin morphologies can improve drag reduction effect, which has important potential applications in fluid engineering.