Twenty-nine species (24 genera, 6 families) of butterflies typical and common in northeast China were selected to make qualitative and quantitative studies on the pattern, hydrophobicity and hydrophobicity mechanism by means of scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measuring system. The scale surface is composed of submicro-class vertical gibbosities and horizontal links. The distance of scale is 48–91 μm, length 65–150 μm, and width 35–70 μm. The distance of submicro-class vertical gibbosities on scale is 1.06–2.74 μm, height 200–900 nm, and width 200–840 nm. The better hydrophobicity on the surface of butterfly wing (static contact angle 136.3°–156.6°) is contributed to the co-effects of micro-class scale and submicro-class vertical gibbosities on the wing surface. The Cassie equation was revised, and new mathematical models and equations were established.
13 October 2015 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Accumulated ice has brought much damage to engineering and people’s lives. The accumulation of ice can affect the flight safety of aircraft and lead to the failure of cables and power generation blades; it can even cause damage to human life. Traditional anti-icing and de-icing strategies have many disadvantages such as high energy consumption, low efficiency, or pollution of the environment. Therefore, inspired by animal communities, researchers have developed new passive anti-icing materials such as superhydrophobic material. In this paper, the solid surface wetting phenomenon and superhydrophobic anti-icing and de-icing mechanism were introduced. The methods of fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces were summarized. The research progress of wear-resistant superhydrophobic coatings, self-healing/self-repairing superhydrophobic coatings, photothermal superhydrophobic coatings, and electrothermal superhydrophobic coatings in the field of anti-icing and de-icing was reviewed. The current problems and challenges were analyzed, and the development trend of superhydrophobic materials was also prospected in the field of anti-icing and de-icing. The practicality of current superhydrophobic materials should continue to be explored in depth.
The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a bionic design for the airfoil of wind turbines inspired by the morphology of Long-eared Owl’s wings. Glauert Model was adopted to design the standard blade and the bionic blade, respectively. Numerical analysis method was utilized to study the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoils as well as the blades. Results show that the bionic airfoil inspired by the airfoil at the 50% aspect ratio of the Long-eared Owl’s wing gives rise to a superior lift coefficient and stalling performance and thus can be beneficial to improving the performance of the wind turbine blade. Also, the efficiency of the bionic blade in wind turbine blades tests increases by 12% or above (up to 44%) compared to that of the standard blade. The reason lies in the bigger pressure difference between the upper and lower surface which can provide stronger lift.