Drag reduction within radial turbine rotor passages using riblets

In this paper, reducing the friction losses in a radial inflow turbine rotor surface by adding engineered features (riblets) is explored. Initially, computational fluid dynamics analysis was used to study the operating mechanism of riblets and to test their ability to reduce drag within the rotor passage when running the turbine at the design point. Thereafter, riblets with different heights and spacing have been implemented at the rotor hub to study the effect of riblets geometry and arrangement on the drag reduction, which leads to determine the riblet geometry where the maximum benefit on turbine performance can be achieved. The effect of riblets on boundary layer development and on the secondary flow generation within the rotor passage has been examined. It was found that the introduction of riblets could reduce the wall shear stress at the hub surface, and on the other hand, they contribute to increasing the stream-wise vorticity within the rotor passage. The maximum wall shear reduction was achieved with riblet with relative height h_rel = 2.5% equivalent to 19.3 wall units, while the maximum performance happens when using riblets with h_rel = 1.5% equivalent to 11.8 wall units as the later contributes less in secondary flow generation within the passage. For riblets with height more than 19.3 wall units, the overall effect is negative, as they cause an increase in drag and give rise to secondary flow leading to lower turbine performance.