Influence of sinusoidal riblets on the coherent structures in turbulent boundary layer studied by time-resolved particle image velocimetry

Abstract

Drag reduction by riblets has drawn the attention of many researchers because of its low production cost and easy maintenance. But due to the fact that the rather low drag reduction riblets can offered, an easy modification to the structure of riblets to improve the performance would be more than necessary. In this work, an investigation of the influences on coherent structure of straight riblets and sinusoidal riblets (s-riblets) in a turbulent boundary layer (TBL) at various Reynolds numbers is carried out experimentally by using the time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV). It is found that the skin friction of the turbulent boundary layer is reduced close to the wall, and the logarithmic velocity profile shifts upwards over riblets and s-riblets. The turbulence intensity and Reynolds shear stress are also reduced in the near wall region compared with the scenario of the smooth case, and a better performance on drag reduction is obtained over s-riblets. Coherent structures including hairpin vortex and low speed streaks are extracted over test plates by using the correlation coefficient and <inline-formula><tex-math id="M2">\begin{document}$\lambda_{ci}$\end{document}</tex-math><alternatives><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M2.jpg"/><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M2.png"/></alternatives></inline-formula> vortex identification method, to study the mechanism of drag reduction caused by riblets. It is shown that the spatial scale of coherent structure in streamwise and wall-normal direction decrease over riblets and s-riblets to various degrees, the inclination angle between the mainstream and coherent structure also decreases, meaning that the wall-normal movement and upwash motion are suppressed over riblets and s-riblets. Results from the conditional sampling method demonstrate that the induction of ejection and sweep motions by hairpin vortex are inhibited over riblets and hence the exchange of energy and momentum and the self-sustaining mechanism in turbulence are influenced. Furthermore, at the same <inline-formula><tex-math id="M3">\begin{document}$Re_{\tau}$\end{document}</tex-math><alternatives><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M3.jpg"/><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M3.png"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, the spanwise spacing of low speed streaks turns wider with wall-normal position increasing. At the same <inline-formula><tex-math id="M4">\begin{document}$ y^{+} $\end{document}</tex-math><alternatives><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M4.jpg"/><graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20181875_M4.png"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, a larger spacing is seen over riblets and s-riblets, implying that spanwise movement of the streaks is restrained and hence becomes more stable.