Riblet drag reduction at flight conditions

Paper describes perforated and nonperforated riblet tests on the fuselage of a modified Learjet Model 28/29 twin-engine business jet at Reynolds numbers 1.0-2.75 x 10 to the 6th/ft and Mach numbers 0.3-0.7. Drag reductions of the order of 6 percent at nondimensional wall spacings of 12 were obtained using boundary-layer rakes and direct drag balances. At the measurement locations the Reynolds number based on distance was 1.0-46 x 10 to the 6th. The nondimensional wall spacing for maximum drag reduction was well-predicted by low-speed wind-tunnel data, but the maximum drag reduction was lower. The low drag is tentatively ascribed to various instrumentation difficulties and the flow field on the aircraft. Riblets with 0.010-in. perforations at center spacings of 0.25 in. were found to give the same drag reduction as nonperforated riblets.