A dimpled car

K

Ken Stallings

Guest
One of my favorite TV shows is Mythbusters. It is a really entertaining show devoted to science.

Tonight, I watched a show where they did a scientific analysis of the effect of dimples (like on a golf ball) applied to the surface of a passenger car. Long story short, using what appears to be very scientific analysis methodology, the group showed an 11% improvement in gas mileage with the dimpled pattern on the car versus the same weight of a smooth application of clay.

In other words, a layer of clay with dimples improved gas mileage 11% versus the smooth clay.

Further, they showed that the smooth clay measurably offered the same gas mileage as the original painted smooth surface. And, they showed that a classic "dirty" car made gas mileage suffer vice the smooth paint.

To conclude:

Dirty car: Worst gas mileage

Clean painted car: Better gas mileage

Smooth clay surface car: Same as clean painted car

Dimpled clay surface car: 11% better gas mileage than clean painted surface car!

The group was flabbergasted! They expected the opposite result. It was amazing to watch them do this!

Could we see this portend revolutionary surfaces for autos, trains, and aircraft?

Ken
 
Actually, the dimpled pattern has to be symetric, like on a golf ball. It changes the wake vortices pattern to reduce the parasitic drag on the vehicle. In order to work, the dimples have to be symetric in diameter as well as in the orientation of their application. So, hail damage won't work.

But yeah, I'd be one very nervous dude every spring through fall if my aircraft weren't inside a hangar! So, I know what you mean by hail damage.

Cheers,

Ken
 
X-type planes have been tested with various patterns of holes and pores on the external surfaces. The benefits were real enough, only the cost to produce such surfaces for standard planes was way too steep.
 
:d

They would have to be highly trained so that they hit in the right place every time, with the right force to make a symmetrical, evenly distributed and equal depth dimple on every car identically. Or, perhaps they could just be stamped that way. Yeah, that might be easier.

Brian
 
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