An attempt to reveal synergies between biology and mechanical engineering

Abstract

Biomimetics is a continuously growing field. In this article specific examples for successful technology transfer among biology and engineering are classified along a newly proposed scheme of the field — biomimetics by analogy and biomimetics by induction — complemented by technical biology. Famous examples as well as niche applications are presented: winglets on airplanes, an optimized straw-bale screw, Velcro, and self-cleaning surfaces and paints, as well as investigations on spiders. The need of a common language for biologists and engineers, in which descriptions at different level of detail are more compatible, is stressed and general principles that can be applied by engineers who are not at all involved in biology are presented.

Effect of Gap between Primary Feathers on Bending Moment of a Bird-like Assembled Wing

“…The main purpose of washout is to prevent the wing tip stall, but obviously it can reduce the bending moment of the wing by reducing the lift at the wing tip like the case of assembled wing. Aerodynamic function of the assembled wing and the washout of conventional wing, therefore, is similar, but the gap in the assembled wing can be more effective than the washout because the flow through gaps can disperse the wing tip vortex and thus reduce the induced drag [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], while the washout of conventional wing does not have such effect to disperse the wing tip vortex.…”

“…On the other hand, C D of δ=4deg wing is almost same as that of δ=0deg wing for both wind speeds. This may be because the increase of friction drag of δ=4deg wing due to the increase of wing area exposed to the flow may be canceled by the reduction of induced drag which is caused by the reduction of lift coefficient and also by the dispersion of the wing tip vortex as described in the previous studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. From Figs.…”

“…The function of primary feathers was investigated previously and clarified that the wing tip primary feathers generate thrust by the forward tilted lift during flapping flight [1,2], and the gap between primary feathers disperses the wing tip vortex and thus can attenuate the induced drag of the wing [2][3][4][5]. The advantage of latter function is applied to the modern airplane as the well-known drag attenuating devise of "winglet" [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] which contributes to reduce fuel consumption. Besides this economic advantage, winglet also realizes higher operating altitude, improved aircraft roll rates, shorter time-toclime rates, lower take-off speeds, less take-off noise and reduced engine emissions [5,16,17].…”

Guard Cell and Tropomyosin Inspired Chemical Sensor

“…Following curiosity, the biology-driven approach encourages a designer to explore a biological system of interest and develop a solution that could potentially be applied to an existing problem. The biology-driven approach can be thought of as a solution-driven approach; however, the goal may not be to develop a solution, but to reveal synergies [51] or comprehend an interesting biological system. The methodology also prescribes the tools of the framework to use while guiding the designer through the steps.…”

Guest Editorial

“…Once a kind of ''black art'', Advanced Materials Engineering nowadays allows application of causal knowledge and the understanding of structure-function relationships over various levels of hierarchy in the development of new materials for our technology. To a certain degree the understanding of complex materials, structures and processes as used by living nature has been achieved, and a regular transfer of knowledge from biology to engineering becomes a realistic scenario [1,2,3]. The current materials engineer is a person with broad knowledge and interest, and the ability to bridge gaps across fields and applications.…”