![]() They used micro-CT scanning to image and 3D model the denticles of the shortfin mako, the world’s fastest shark its denticles resemble a trident, due to their three raised ridges. The team tested their hypothesis and demonstrated a bio-inspired structure that could improve the aerodynamics of cars, drones, planes, and wind turbines. These denticles were arranged in a wide range of different configurations on an aerofoil, two examples of which are shown here (c,d ). Through parametric modelling to query a wide range of different designs, we discovered a set of denticle-inspired surface structures that achieve simultaneous drag reduction and lift generation on an aerofoil, resulting in lift-to-drag ratio improvements comparable to the best-reported for traditional low-profile vortex generators and even outperforming these existing designs at low angles of attack with improvements of up to 323%.”Įnvironmental scanning electron microscope image of denticles from the shortfin mako shark (a) and (its corresponding parametric 3D model (b). The abstract reads, “Inspired by the drag-reducing properties of the tooth-like denticles that cover the skin of sharks, we describe here experimental and simulation-based investigations into the aerodynamic effects of novel denticle-inspired designs placed along the suction side of an aerofoil. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ( SEAS) and Lauder. Supported by the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation, the researchers recently published a paper, titled “ Shark skin-inspired designs that improve aerodynamic performance,” in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface co-authors include Harvard PhD student August Domel Saadat James Weaver of Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Hossein Haj-Hariri, the Dean of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina Katia Bertoldi, the William and Ami Kuan Danoff Professor of Applied Mechanics at the Harvard John A. ![]() But Lauder and the rest of the team decided to dig deeper.Īccording to Mehdi Saadat, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard with a joint appointment in Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina, “We asked, what if instead of mainly reducing drag, these particular shapes were actually better suited for increasing lift.” Other ocean-inspired researchers have used 3D printing to improve airplanes, and there’s been a lot of research into the drag-reducing properties of shark denticles. But sharks have been doing so for a lot longer than planes. ![]() They both decrease drag and generate lift using the shapes of their bodies. While they may not seem very similar, airplanes and sharks are both designed to move efficiently through either air or water. ![]() “The skin of sharks is covered by thousands and thousands of small scales, or denticles, which vary in shape and size around the body. We know a lot about the structure of these denticles - which are very similar to human teeth - but the function has been debated,” explained George Lauder, the Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology and Professor of Biology in Harvard’s Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and a member of the original research team. ![]() Now, a new team of Harvard engineers and evolutionary biologists, together with colleagues from the University of South Carolina, are building on this original 3D printing research to try to create more aerodynamic machines. Four years ago, scientists from Harvard University scanned sections of shark skin, then developed a 3D printable material from the data that replicated, to the best of its ability, the properties of real shark skin the material was then used to give flexible paddles an astonishing 6.6% boost in swimming speed. Sharks have very unique skin – it gives the animals some help in rapidly propelling themselves through the water thanks to tiny, teeth-like scales called denticles. ![]()
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