Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation on NACA 0026 Airfoil with V-Groove Riblets

Abstract

The aims of this research is to look into the percentage drag reduction on a NACA 0026 airfoil with V-Groove riblets installed around at some locations around its surface. NACA 0026 is a symmetrical airfoil mostly used as turbine blade and aircraft wing. Research on drag reduction by using riblets on the surface was introduced by NASA Langley Research Centre in 1970s. There are many types of riblet designed in this research area such as V groove, segmented blade and continuous sawtooth. This research used NACA 0026 with external geometry 500 mm spans, 615 mm chord and 156 mm thickness. V-groove riblets with 1 mm pitch and 1 mm high and 30 mm width are attached at peak points of the airfoil profile. The CFD simulation used ANSYS Fluent to analyze the velocity, pressure gradient, turbulent kinetic energy and vortex development. The result shows the percentage in drag reduction compared to clean surface for the zero angle of attack is 11.8% and 30⁰ angle of attack is 1.64%. By this condition the airfoil will have better motion performance in their applications.