Comment Re:Get this crap out of here. (Score 1) 110
Probably because the source paid Slashdot to post it in hopes of getting subscribers to sign up. I am going to guess the conversion rate is 0%.
Surface roughness can be used to transition the boundary layer from a laminar to a turbulent flow. Early separation on an airfoil causes an increase in drag. You can trip the flow with surface roughness, suction/blowing, trip wire, etc to make it turbulent and repair the separation.
Now relating to the article I am guessing they have a turbulent boundary layer which is why sand particles are being sucked in and slammed against the blade. Having a laminar BL would prevent sand from entering it?
All seems condemned in the long run to approximate a state akin to Gaussian noise. -- James Martin