There is also the work being done by Dr Sinha in USA: http://www.sinhatech.com/Index.asp John G.
John Roake wrote: > On 27/3/08 1:27 AM, "Michael Derry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: John > Roake: His reply hereunder: > > THIS FROM THE JANUARY ISSUE OF GLIDING INTERNATIONAL > > > SHARK SKIN RESEARCH COULD REDUCE SAILPLANE DRAG BY 30 PERCENT 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 > sailplanes. “If we can successfully show there is a significant effect, > future applications to reduce drag of sailplanes 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 aircraft fuel burn and > emissions. Dr. Lang will perform water-tunnel experiments to measure the > flow over and within a bristled sharkskin model (2 cm size scales), > which achieves similarity with real sharkskin (0.2 mm size scales) by a > corresponding scale down in velocity of the experiments. She will also > obtain drag measurements over a sharkskin model in a Couette flow > facility containing high-viscosity oil. Her work is also supported by > the National Science Foundation. > > > > JOHN, EDITOR, GLIDING INTERNATIONAL > > > > In the news today there is much mention of swimmers using hi-tech suits > rather than swimming in brief costumes to improve their times. > > Does anyone on this list know much about this subject and is there any > relevance from what these people have learned that can help us to > improve the performance of our gliders ? > > Michael Derry > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
