Active flow control over a sphere using a smart morphable skin

Dimples on a sphere's surface can lead to significant drag reduction. However, the optimal dimple depth to minimize the drag varies with the Reynolds number ($Re$). In this study, a smart surface-morphing technique is devised that can adjust dimple depth based on the flow conditions to minimize drag across a wide range of $Re$ values. By depressurizing the core of a rigid skeleton enclosed with a thin latex membrane, the dimple depth can be precisely controlled in response to flow velocity changes. A comprehensive series of systematic experiments are performed for Reynolds number range of 6×10⁴ ≤ Re ≤ 1.3×10⁵, and dimple depth ratios of 0 ≤ k/d ≤ 2×10⁻² using the morphable sphere. It is observed that the dimple depth ratio $k/d$ significantly affects both the onset of the drag crisis and the minimum achievable drag. As $k/d$ increases, the critical Reynolds number for the drag crisis decreases. However, the minimum achievable drag coefficient decreases as $k/d$ increases. By carefully adjusting the $k/d$ to $Re$ using the morphable approach, our experiments show that CD reductions up to 50 % can be achieved when compared to a smooth counterpart for all the $Re$ considered. For a constant $Re$, drag reduces as $k/d$ increases. However, there is a critical threshold beyond which drag amplification starts to occur. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) reveals a delay in flow separation on the sphere's surface with increasing $k/d$, causing the separation angle to shift downstream. However, when $k/d$ exceeds the critical threshold, flow separation moves upstream, causing an increase in drag. By using the experimental data, a control model is also developed relating optimum $k/d$ with $Re$ to minimize drag. This model also serves as the basis for adaptive drag control of the sphere for a wide range of Reynolds number.