61 MODULE 1: TERM 1 – Introducing the world of design


Learning from humpback whales how to create efficient wind power can be very sustainable:


Te random-looking bumps on the humpback whale’s flip- pers have inspired a breakthrough in aerodynamic design that seems like nothing less than a revolution in fluid dy- namics. Rather like a school bus performing pirouettes un- der water, a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) – 12 – 15m long and weighing nearly 40 tons – swims in circles tight enough to produce nets of bubbles only 1.5 m across while corralling and catching krill, its shrimp-like prey. It turns out that the whale’s surprising dexterity is due mainly to its flippers, which have large, irregular-looking bumps called tubercules across their leading edges. Whereas sheets of water flowing over smooth flippers break up into myriad turbulent vortices as they cross the flipper, sheets of water passing through a humpback’s tubercules maintain even channels of fast-moving water, allowing humpbacks to keep their “grip” on the water at sharper angles and turn tighter corners, even at low speeds. Wind tunnel tests of model humpback fins with and without tubercules have demonstrated that the aerodynamic improvements tubercu- les make an 8% improvement in liſt and a 32% reduction in drag, as well as allowing for a 40% increase in angle of at- tack over smooth flippers before stalling. A company called WhalePower is applying the lessons learned from humpback whales to the design of wind turbines to increase their effi- ciency, while this natural technology also has enormous po- tential to improve the safety and performance of airplanes, fans and more.


Whale power copies the tubercles on the fins of the Humpback whale


Learning from nature how to create flow without friction can be very sustainable:


Fans and other rotational devices are a major part of the human built environment, and a major component of our total energy usage. Although we’ve been building such devices in one form or another since at least 100 BC, until now we’ve never built them as nature does. Naturally flowing fluids, gases and heat follow a common geometric pattern that differs in shape from conventional human-made rotors. Nature moves water and air using a logarithmic or exponentially growing spiral, as commonly seen in seashells.


Tis pattern shows up everywhere in nature: in the pat- tern of swirling galaxies in outer space, in the shape of the cochlea of our inner ears, in plant shapes and wher- ever fluids moves naturally. Inspired by the way nature moves water and air, PAX Scientific Inc. applied this fundamental geometry to the shape of human-made ro- tary devices for the first time, in fans, mixers, propellers, turbines and pumps. Depending on the application, the resulting designs reduce energy usage by a staggering 10 – 85% over conventional rotors, and noise by up to 75%. Very sustainable and environmentally friendly.


Biomimicry SA website:


https://sites.google.com/site/biomimicrysa www.thepaxgroup.com


www.biomimicryinstitute.org Copyright © Future Managers


www.biomimicry.net


WHAT IS DESIGN?


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