BENGALURU: Who knew flippers on humpback whales can inspire a more efficient design of wind turbines, airplane wings and boat rudders? At the 6th convocation of the National College in Basavanagudi on Sunday, A S Kiran Kumar, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission and Indian Space Research Organisation, spoke about this and several other scientific innovations that are inspired by nature. He asked students to have an eye for detail in the natural creations. Citing Sir Albert Einstein, he said, “Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. It won’t be wrong to say that almost all innovations in science and engineering are inspired by something in nature. Engineers in various industries around the world are turning to nature for inspiration as they try to design products with better performance and lower energy consumption.”
Among a range of examples he gave was one of owls whose feathers with jagged edges allow it to fly without creating turbulence or noise. “Mechanical engineers have emulated these shapes to design fans and turbines that are nearly silent,”he said. “Flippers on humpback whales have non-smooth leading edges, yet demonstrate superior fluid dynamics compared to the characteristically smooth leading edges of our wings, turbines and other kinds of blades. The whale’s surprising dexterity is primarily due to its non-conventional flippers, which have large irregular looking bumps called tubercles across the leading edges,” he added.
“This design can be applied to develop more efficient wind turbines, hydroelectric turbines, airplane wings etc,” he said.The nasal surfaces of a camel help conserve water when the camel is dehydrated by cooling and extracting water from exhaled air. “During hot desert days, this nasal heat exchange mechanism also helps protect the camel’s brain from overheating. For controlling evaporation from open storage ponds, designing more efficient irrigation systems, recapturing water used in industrial processes, etc, one can get inspiration from this species,”he said.
INSPIRED THINKING
Owls’ feathers allow them to fly without creating turbulence or noise. Mechanical engineers have emulated these shapes to design fans and turbines that are nearly silent.
The whale’s surprising dexterity is due to its non-conventional flippers, which have large irregular looking bumps across the leading edges. This design can be applied to develop more efficient wind turbines, hydroelectric turbines, ceiling fans, airplane wings, underwater vehicles, boat rudders, etc.
In aviation industry, the A380 aircraft design is inspired by the wing tips of eagles
The East Gate building in Harare (Zimbabwe) imitates termite infrastructure and the air exchange system and only uses 10 per cent of the energy of conventional buildings of the same size