Development of an incremental rolling process for the production of defined riblet surface structures

Viscous drag reduction on fan, compressor and turbine blades may be achieved by employing a riblet surface structure. Such a structure assists in increasing efficiency and in reducing energy consumption in flow applications. In order to produce riblet surface structures industrially, a new and incremental rolling process is being developed and investigated. The process design is being determined by common airstream requirements as well as the forming mechanisms that are predominant during the rolling process. Based on this principle, the required shape of the structured rollers is being developed. Research is focused on the feasibility of manufacturing small riblet structures at a size of a few hundred microns. Experimental production of different riblet geometries made from Ti-6Al-4V (WL 3.7164) provides some initial insights with respect to feasibility, shape accuracy, surface quality, and micro structure.