Biomimetic structures for fluid drag reduction in laminar and turbulent flows

Biomimetics allows one to mimic nature to develop materials and devices of commercial interest for engineers. Drag reduction in fluid flow is one of the examples found in nature. In this study, nano, micro, and hierarchical structures found in lotus plant surfaces, as well as shark skin replica and a rib patterned surface to simulate shark skin structure were fabricated. Drag reduction efficiency studies on the surfaces were systematically carried out using water flow. An experimental flow channel was used to measure the pressure drop in laminar and turbulent flows, and the trends were explained in terms of the measured and predicted values by using fluid dynamics models. The slip length for various surfaces in laminar flow was also investigated based on the measured pressure drop. For comparison, the pressure drop for various surfaces was also measured using air flow.