Hi Keith (and all),
Just got back from a month in Europe and I'm trying to catch up on all the
e-mail (over a 1000 from this list alone!!!)
Interesting site, I've seen this before on A/C. Did your friend talk about
how they determine where to locate the tape? Do they use yarn or ink (or?)
to determine where the flow trips?
I saw a brief article once in a aviation magazine about a tape used to help
attach flow around curves. The tape had tiny inverted NACA duct shaped
bumps (i.e. sticking up from the tape surface). The rows were offset from
the previous row by half their width. Unlike a normal NACA duct, the bump
started at the wide end of the "duct" and got taller toward the narrow end.
When the air spilled off the first bump it would be lined up with the ramp
of the next row. Seemed like a very ingenious idea. Don't recall the name
of the company and I've never seen any further mention of it, has anyone
else?
If you go to the Corbin racing website (www.corbinracing.com) and check the
pictures of their "Privateer" you'll notice that their tail section has a
series of golf ball like dimples. Corbin is very switched on to
aerodynamics, check out the back half of this bike, clearly they're thinking
...
One thing many people new to aerodynamics underestimate is how important the
closing shape is. If you can keep the flow attached (and relatively
non-turbulent) as far aft as possible drag can be reduced a lot. A vehicle
that throws up a big roostertail has poor aerodynamics. The smaller the
wake the less energy imparted to the airflow. If the taper angle towards
the rear exceeds 7 degrees it is very difficult to keep it attached without
other aero aids.
Dale
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