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robchalmers -

Originally Posted by robchalmers

Have you guys heard of sharkskin? its a wrap you put at boudary separation radius and it premature layer seperation and thus reduces drag.... now if only i could find a link

I googled "sharkskin aerodynamic" and found these :

The Shark Coating - A technology imitating the "riblet effect" from shark skin - Softpedia - 16th of December 2006

Have you ever touched shark skin? It is very abrasive, like sand paper.
This is due to a special type of scales, called placoid ("slate-like"), very similar structurally to teeth and carrying tiny ridge-like structures. The tiny ridges arranged parallel to the swimming direction - known as "riblets" - decrease drag in water, explaining the amazing speed that some sharks reach with minimal effort.

Shark Skin Research Could Reduce Airplane Drag By 30 Percent - December 5, 2007

It may seem obvious that the surface of an airplane should be as smooth as possible to minimize aerodynamic drag, but that's not really the case. A bit of roughness can break up the boundary layer and improve efficiency. Sharks, with skin formed of rough scales called denticles, can slip through the water at speeds of up to 60 mph with minimal drag. This week, The Lindbergh Foundation awarded a grant to Dr. Amy Lang, at the University of Alabama, to study whether the surface texture on the skin of fast-swimming sharks, capable of bristling their scales when in pursuit of prey, could be mimicked and used to reduce the drag on aircraft. "If we can successfully show there is a significant effect, future applications to reduce drag of aircraft and underwater vehicles could be possible," said Lang. The technology has the potential to increase aerodynamic efficiency up to 30 percent, with savings of billions of dollars and substantial reductions in fuel burn and emissions.

CarloSW2