| This is a bird! This is a plane! This is a shark? Recently, researchers from Harvard turned to the most ferocious underwater predators - sharks, for the next generation of aircraft, drones, Inspired by the design of wind turbines and cars, shark skins can provide valuable insights and create more aerodynamic structures, according to the researchers.  A project team of evolutionary biologists and engineers from Harvard University and members of the University of South Carolina recently demonstrated the power of the 3D printed shark skin inspired structure to help usher in a new generation of more aerodynamic aircraft, Man-machine and other systems.It is reported that the research results have been published in the "Royal Society interface magazine." The findings suggest that sharks and aircraft may not actually be as different as one might think (to be sure, I never thought of a relationship between them before.) Both are designed to pass effectively Fluids (water and air) take advantage of the shape of their bodies to create lift and reduce drag, with the difference that the sharks took about 400 million years to evolve. The shark skin is special and although it looks smooth, it actually covers thousands of tiny denticles. Professor George Lauder compared it to human teeth, which have teeth according to their position on the shark Different shapes and sizes So far, scientists generally believe the main function of the dentate body during shark swim is to reduce drag, but now Harvard researchers have reason to believe that they may actually be to improve lift. The discovery was made by 3D printing, which was used to recreate the small teeth of a shortfin mako used in various experiments, the researchers said shortfin mako is one of the fastest sharks roaming the oceans There is a special toothed shape, their three bulges (like trident) are noteworthy. Researchers at Harvard University used tiny CT scanners to scan the shark's serrations and then integrate the three-dimensional serrated structure into the curved wing structure, a section called the airfoil, which was then 3D printed and tested for aerodynamics. 'The wings are a major part of all airborne equipment,' said August August Domel, a Harvard University doctoral student and lead author of the study, 'and we wanted to test these structures on the airfoil Measure their impact on lift and drag for use in the design of a wide range of airborne equipment such as drones, aircraft and wind turbines. After extensive 3D printing and testing of multiple versions inside the runner, the researchers found that the dentate structure not only reduced drag but also boosted lift effectively, and the team even compared them to 'high-power, Low-profile vortex generator 'that is installed on most cars and airplanes and helps to change the vehicle's air flow to improve aerodynamics. Domel added: "These shark-inspired eddy current generators achieve a lift-drag ratio of up to 323% over airfoils without a vortex generator. With these proof-of-concept designs, we have demonstrated that these bio-inspired Vortex generators have the potential to go beyond traditional designs. Digitally Proven: 3D-printed shark skins are likely to be the future of aircraft, drones, cars and turbines. Article Source: 3D Tiger |
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