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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

2017

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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Determining Drag Forces On 3d Printed Shark Skin And The Conditions In Which Drag Forces Are Reduced, Kayla M. Bartnicke May 2017

Determining Drag Forces On 3d Printed Shark Skin And The Conditions In Which Drag Forces Are Reduced, Kayla M. Bartnicke

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

This project was conducted at the University of Arkansas with access to 3D printers and a water tunnel. The project examines drag forces over 3D-printed shark skin. Shark skin was chosen to be studied because of its unique three-pronged denticle shape and the assumption that this unique shape has a purpose, such as drag reduction.

A shark denticle was designed using SolidWorks software, multiplied 164 times creating a total skin area of 17.5 in2, and printed using both a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer and an Ultimaker 2 Go 3D printer. The shark skin was initially printed …