The Effect of Sliding Surfaces on Flow around Solid Bodies

Incorporating a sliding surface on a solid body to align with the incoming flow is an effective approach for drag reduction. One practical implementation of this concept is to replace the surface with a passive roller-belt system. However, the impact of such a system on flow characteristics remains largely unexplored. This study investigates a solid body with part of its surface replaced by a roller-belt system using both computational and experimental methods. A comprehensive flow physics investigation is conducted to analyze the effects of the sliding surface on flow features such as boundary layer thickness, vortex shedding, and flow separation. Additionally, parametric studies are performed to examine the influence of various design parameters on the drag reduction and lift generation performance of these systems. From the preliminary investigation, a 20\% friction drag reduction is observed in the numerical simulation.