nticles have three raised ridges, like a trident. Using micro-CT scanning, the team imaged and modeled the denticles in three dimensions. Next, they 3-D printed the shapes on the surface of a wing with a curved aerodynamic cross-section, known as an airfoil.
“Airfoils are a primary component of all aerial devices,” said August Domel, a Ph.D. student at Harvard and co-first author of the paper. “We wanted to test these structures on airfoils as a way of measuring their effect on lift and drag for applications in the design of various aerial devices such as drones, airplanes, and wind turbines.”
The researchers tested 20 different configurations of denticle sizes, rows and row positions on airfoils inside a water flow tank. They found that in addition to reducing drag, the denticle-shaped structures significantly increased lift, acting as high-powered, low-profile vortex generators.
Even if you don't know what a vortex generator is, you've seen one in action. Cars and planes are equipped with these small, passive devices designed to alter the air flow over the surface of a moving object to make it more aerodynamic. Most vortex generators in the field today have a simple, blade-like design.
“These shark-inspired vortex generators achieve lift-to-drag ratio improvements of up to 323 percent compared to an airfoil without vortex generators,” said Domel. “With these proof of concept designs, we've demonstrated that these bioinspired vortex generators have the potential to outperform traditional designs.”
“You can imagine these vortex generators being used on wind turbines or drones to increase the efficiency of the blades,” said Katia Bertoldi, William and Ami Kuan Danoff Professor of Applied Mechanics at SEAS and co-author of the study. “The results open new avenues for improved, bioinspired aerodynamic designs.”
“This research not only outlines a novel shape for vortex generators but also provides insight into the role of complex and potentially multifunctional shark denticles,” said Lauder.
The Harvard Office of Technology Development has protected the intellectual property relating to this project and is exploring commercialization opportunities.
The research was co-authored by James Weaver of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, and Hossein Haj-Hariri, Dean of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina. This research was supported by Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation.
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