A Novel Multibeam Mobile Riblet Processing System for Large-Area Applications

This paper is for the special session on Drag Reducing Surfaces. Presented is a novel, multibeam, mobile riblet processing system comprising a vibration-compensated, optical unit coupled to a conventional industrial robot arm residing on a mobile platform, and a laser tracker. The system enables cost-effective, precise, large-area, riblet processing on objects such as airframes, wings, jet engine nacelles, helicopter blades, wind turbine blades, and body surfaces of trains, automobiles and watercraft. This system was used to demonstrate the fabrication of 100 μm pitch, 35 μm deep riblets on polyurethane paint over a 0.02 m2 (6-field) region with an effective throughput of 12 seconds / field (or 144 m2 / day).