The Relationship Between Frictional Resistance and Roughness for Surfaces Smoothed by Sanding

An experimental investigation has been carried out to document and relate the frictional resistance and roughness texture of painted surfaces smoothed by sanding. Hydrodynamic tests were carried out in a towing tank using a flat plate test fixture towed at a Reynolds number ReL range of 2.8×106−5.5×106 based on the plate length and freestream velocity. Results indicate an increase in frictional resistance coefficient CF of up to 7.3% for an unsanded, as-sprayed paint surface compared to a sanded, polished surface. Significant increases in CF were also noted on surfaces sanded with sandpaper as fine as 600-grit as compared to the polished surface. The results show that, for the present surfaces, the centerline average height Ra is sufficient to explain a large majority of the variance in the roughness function ΔU+ in this Reynolds number range.