Sharkskin actually increases drag
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - 10:00
in Physics & Chemistry
On an intuitive level, you'd expect a shark's skin to reduce drag. After all, the purpose of sharkskin-inspired riblets—the micro-grooved structures found in aircraft wings, wind turbine blades and Olympic-class swimsuits—is to do just that. Sharkskin's ability to reduce hydrodynamic drag, however, has been academically contested for the past 30 years.