Cars, wind turbines, drones and boats: These are all vehicles that could significantly increase efficiency if they contained a topical layer of an innovative plastic film, developed by Texas Tech University engineers in collaboration with other U.S. universities.
Dr. Burak Aksak and Dr. Humberto Bocanegra Evans with Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering looked at the “microstructure on the shark skin,” Aksak said. Ali Hamed, Serdar Gorumlu, Ali Doosttalab, Dr. Leonardo Chamorro, and Dr. Luciano Castillo were also researchers on the project.
The engineers tried to “mimic the size and shape of the microstructures on a synthetic skin” reducing drag, which is a force working against a moving vehicle, Aksak said.
“We thought this surface could actually replicate the surface of the shark skin. It was a good complement of our skillset, and that’s why we started the project four years ago,” said Aksak, an assistant mechanical engineering professor.
“We have a very big industry in Lubbock and worldwide, too. With this technology, conservatively we can save about 5 percent on efficiency. That equates to about 11,000 more wind turbines without moving a finger,” he said.
This new film, which looks like a flat piece of thin plastic and has fibers the size of a single hair, is inexpensive and applicable to many industries, Aksak added.
From military to agricultural and commercial technology, this film could reduce costs in energy, he said.
“Our need for energy is increasing every year. We are consuming more and more energy,” Aksak said. “These simple tactics where we can improve your efficiency and increase your power production can be monumental for our reliance on energy and ability to improve efficiency.”
The film increases sustainable energy production and reduces fossil fuel emissions contributing to carbon footprints, according to Aksak.
“We look at natural systems and how they solve problems, and we try to adapt it into engineered problems,” he said.
“Cutting-edge” technology replicating shark skin is popular, said Mark Harral from Group NIRE Renewable Energy Solutions, referring to its use on bathing suits for the U.S. swim team.
“They are applying this other technology that’s already been introduced into the market and applying it to this so it can be efficient,” he added.
The research however, is the first of itskind, Aksak explained. “People have been looking at sharkskin for a while,” but no research exactly replicates. Rather, they are inspired by it. “Previous research has been focused on the grooves over the denticles, a technology called riblets. In our research, we are inspired by the denticle itself and try to come up with a surface that best resembles the critical features,” he said.
Harral believes the technology is not only about more energy being outputted, but also that fact that it can reduce the wear and tear on machines itself.
While the results were promising in the lab, it requires further research to determine its large-scale feasibility, Harral said.
The research will be applicable in a commercial setting, but to what extent it works is still the question, Aksak said.
“The next step in their research includes taking their laboratory results and applying them to a commercial setting,” he said.
Their work was nationally recognized in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“It’s essentially a stamp of approval that we were able to accomplish our goals,” said Aksak.