Drag Reduction by Herringbone Riblet Texture in Direct Numerical Simulations of Turbulent Channel Flow

Abstract: A bird-feather-inspired herringbone riblet texture was investigated for turbulent drag reduction. The texture consists of blade riblets in a converging/diverging or herringbone pattern with spanwise wavelength $\Lambda_f$. The aim is to quantify the drag change for this texture as compared to a smooth wall and to study the underlying mechanisms. To that purpose, Direct Numerical Simulations of turbulent flow in a channel with height $L_z$ were performed. The FIK-identity for drag decomposition was extended to textured walls and was used to study the drag change mechanisms. For $\Lambda_f/L_z \gtrsim O(10)$, the herringbone texture behaves similarly to a conventional parallel-riblet texture in yaw: the suppression of turbulent advective transport results in a slight drag reduction of 2%. For $\Lambda_f/L_z \lesssim O(1)$, the drag increases strongly with a maximum of 73%. This is attributed to enhanced mean and turbulent advection, which results from the strong secondary flow that forms over regions of riblet convergence/divergence. Hence, the employment of convergent/divergent riblets in the texture seems to be detrimental to turbulent drag reduction.