We know that designers and engineers often take inspiration from nature, and now a group of engineers and evolutionary biologists at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina in the US are doing just that by looking at sharks’ scales.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers highlighted the research, which is exploring how these predators of the deep could improve the aerodynamics of everything from planes and drones to wind turbines and cars.
Sharks are covered in tiny scales, known as denticles, which vary in shape and size across the body. Much of the research into their scales has focused on how to reduce drag, but the team involved in this study wanted to see whether these denticles were increasing lift.
The team 3D-printed denticles onto airfoils, which have applications in a range of industries, to see how they impacted performance.
Co-first author of the paper August Domel told the news provider that their concept designs using denticles outperform traditional airfoils.
“These shark-inspired vortex generators achieve lift-to-drag ratio improvements of up to 323 per cent compared to an airfoil without vortex generators,” Domel asserted.
There are many applications for this kind of technology, with another co-author of the study Katia Bertoldi explaining that their concept could be used on wind turbine blades or drones to increase the efficiency of the blades.
Although nothing has been commercialised yet, the Harvard Office of Technology Development has protected the intellectual property of the research while such opportunities are explored.
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