×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

"new" surface treatment

"new" surface treatment

"new" surface treatment

(OP)
saw this in flight today ...
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/aircraft...

immediately it reminded me that sailing dinghys have known for a long time that really smooth, highly waxed, and glossy surfaces aren't the best ... a light scuffing improves the adhesion of the boundary layer.

immediately followed by ... and how is that relevent to airplane wings ? (surely the reynolds number is completely different ??)

and ... i wonder how this'll hold up in the real world (with dirt and insects getting into those tiny crevices) ?

makes me think of all the "optimisation" studies that go on ... how United (?) stripped the paint of their planes (to save weight) only to put it back when maintenance of the polished skins was more expensive than the fuel saved ... i think these things are lead by organisation changes, followed by the imperative for the new guy to "mark" his domain.

RE: "new" surface treatment

Riblets have been around awhile - 3M had a riblet "tape" under development. Yes, dust and impact damage will probably negate any advantage pretty quickly - but aren't there some new coating materials that have "self cleaning" properties in development?

Oh, and thought the ReL for a dinghy was about the same as for a jet aircraft wing - factor of 100 difference in viscosity but a factor of 100 difference in speed also, net result is a similar Reynolds no.

RE: "new" surface treatment

3M had a riblet "tape" under development should've been: ...in the 1980's.

RE: "new" surface treatment

Bad for Aircraft RCS

Any clue at what speed this becomes useful? Not mentioned in the article. I assume that answer is based on rib size.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources