Aerodynamic drag can be reduced by many small longitudinal grooves machined in aircraft skin. Experiments show that grooves parallel to airflow reduce drag by 4 to 7 percent. Reduced drag translates into reduced engine power required to overcome drag and ultimately to lower fuel consumption.
Grooves reduce aircraft drag
NASA Tech Briefs ; 5 , 2
1980-09-01
Miscellaneous
No indication
English
Longitudinal grooves for bluff body drag reduction
NTRS | 1981
|Longitudinal grooves for bluff body drag reduction
AIAA | 1981
|European Research to Reduce Drag for Supersonic Transport Aircraft
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2001
|