Abstract
The near-wall flow structures of turbulent boundary layer over riblets having semi-circular grooves were investigated experimentally for the drag decreasing ($s^+=25.2$) and drag increasing ($s^+=40.6$) cases. The field of view used for tho velocity field measurement was $6.75{\times}6.75mm^2$ in physical dimension, containing two grooves. One thousand instantaneous velocity fields over the riblets were extracted for each case of drag increase and decrease. For comparison, five hundreds instantaneous velocity fields over a smooth flat plate were also obtained under the same flow conditions. To see the global flow structure qualitatively, the flow visualization was also performed using the synchronized smoke-wire technique. For the drag decreasing case ($s^+=25.2$), most of the streamwise vortices stay above the riblets, interacting with the riblet tips. The high-speed in-rush flow toward the riblet surface rarely influences the flow inside tho riblet valleys submerged in the viscous sublayer. The riblet tips seem to impede the spanwise movement of the longitudinal vortices and induce secondary vortices. The turbulent kinetic energy in the riblet valley is sufficiently small to compensate the increased wetted area of the riblets. In addition, in the logarithmic region, the turbulent kinetic energy are small or almost equal to that of a smooth flat plato. For the drag increasing case ($s^+=40.6$), however, the streamwise vortices move into the riblet valley freely, interacting directly with the riblet inner surface. The penetration of the high-speed in-rush flow on the riblets increases tho skin-friction. The turbulent kinetic energy is increased in the riblet valleys and even in the outer region compared to that over a flat plate.