Charlie J. Lloyd
Hydrodynamic efficiency in sharks: the combined role of riblets and denticles
Lloyd, Charlie J.; Peakall, Jeffrey; Burns, Alan; Keevil, Gareth; Dorrell, Robert M.; Wignall, Paul; Fletcher, Thomas
Authors
Jeffrey Peakall
Alan Burns
Gareth Keevil
Robert M. Dorrell
Paul Wignall
Thomas Fletcher
Abstract
We investigate the influence of smooth and ribletted shark skin on a turbulent boundary layer flow. Through Laser Doppler Anemometry the role of riblets in combination with the shark skin denticle is established for the first time. Our results show that smooth denticles behave like a typical rough surface when exposed to an attached boundary layer. Drag is increased for the full range of tested dimensionless denticle widths, w+ ≈ 25-80, where w+ is the denticle width, w, scaled by the friction velocity, uτ, and the kinematic viscosity, ν. However, when riblets are added to the denticle crown we demonstrate there is a significant reduction in drag, relative to the smooth denticles. We obtain a modest maximum drag reduction of 2 % for the ribletted denticles when compared to the flat plate, but when compared to the smooth denticles the difference in drag is in excess of 20 % for w+ ≈ 80. This study enables a new conclusion that riblets have evolved as a mechanism to reduce or eliminate the skin friction increase due to the presence of scales (denticles). The combination of scales and riblets is hydrodynamically efficient in terms of skin-friction drag, while also acting to maintain flow attachment, and providing the other advantages associated with scales, e.g. anti-fouling, abrasion resistance, and defence against parasites.
Citation
Lloyd, C. J., Peakall, J., Burns, A., Keevil, G., Dorrell, R. M., Wignall, P., & Fletcher, T. (2021). Hydrodynamic efficiency in sharks: the combined role of riblets and denticles. Bioinspiration&biomimetics, 16(4), Article 046008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/abf3b1
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Mar 30, 2021 |
Online Publication Date | Jun 4, 2021 |
Publication Date | Jun 4, 2021 |
Deposit Date | May 17, 2021 |
Publicly Available Date | May 21, 2021 |
Journal | Bioinspiration & biomimetics |
Electronic ISSN | 1748-3190 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 16 |
Issue | 4 |
Article Number | 046008 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/abf3b1 |
Keywords | Biotechnology; Biophysics; Molecular Medicine; Engineering (miscellaneous); Biochemistry |
Public URL | https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3771316 |
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Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s).
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