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Bio-mimicry in Aeronautical/Aerospace Design

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Bio-mimicry in Aeronautical/Aerospace Design

Biomimicry, or the imitation of the living, aims to take inspiration from natural selection

solutions adopted by nature and translate the principles to human engineering. It is an

interconnected understanding on how life works and learns to mimic the strategies used by living

species to their everyday lives. Designs following biometrics will ultimately allow human

productions to be more efficient, resilient and sustainable in the near future (biomimicry.org).

Janine Benyus, sees nature as a model. It is an inspiration for designs or the processes in

solving human problems. It is also a measure that uses ecological standards to judge the rightness

of human innovations. Lastly, a mentor. It serves as a way to observe, assess, and value nature

itself (biomimicry.org).

Biomimicry can be used on many sectors of the human activities. It can be used on

medicine, research, economy, architecture, urban planning, engineering, agriculture and

management and others. The concept of biomimicry is based on an idea that nature is the

operator of the principles of efficiency. Its philosophy is part of the global sustainable

development in managing the planet’s resources.

The science of biomimicry is adopted by aircraft manufacturers, and there is the potential

for some complex artifices of nature to be emulated and used in aviation in increasing the

efficiency and in enabling wider adaptation of aircrafts to changing conditions during its flight.

Birds and sharks are inspiring engineers to their new designs.

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Summary of Articles

As the aviation industry faces the colossal challenge of how to create flying more

economical, nature is progressively demonstrating to have some invaluable knowledge on how to

form an aircraft lighter, faster and more fuel efficient.

Boeing and NASA have discovered a modest method to cut aircraft fuel bills by getting a

stunt from the world's most prominent significant distance pilots: transitory winged animals. The

thought is to interface the flying guards securely utilizing route and impact shirking instruments

that as of now are generally introduced in cockpits.

The habits and anatomy of winged animals are being utilized at Airbus to create more

quiet and eco-friendly aircrafts. It is utilizing the concept of biomimicry in the plan of intelligent

wings that respond naturally to the environmental conditions, similarly as a hawk's or a peregrine

bird of prey's do. While birds do it without deduction, the thought is that an aircraft will do this

with sensors that can recognize changing conditions and trigger fast reactions in its wings

(Sunderland, 2017).

In a macroscopic axis, the A350 XWB considers the effective deformation of the surfaces

to supply the best aerodynamic performance and control of load for each flight conditions;

takeoff, climb, cruise, approach, landing, maneuver, turbulence-encounters, etc. This is what

winged creatures, fish and marine warm-blooded animals perform perfectly, called "morphing".

The thought is to move from a 'rigid' world to flexibility and adapting technologies. In another

more infinitesimal axis, concerns the new surfaces and modern materials that have, for case, self-

cleaning properties, mending properties, exceptionally low grip properties (against icing of the
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wings) or low aerodynamic friction (Biomimetics: the nature as a source of inspiration for A350

XWB design. 2014).

Birds use a concept where they fly in a V shape when they are in a flock. This mode of

flying has enabled birds to travel greater distances. The V formation aids in collaboration,

because as each bird flies, it adds more energy to the group, and they can keep up many miles in

flight, the Airbus fello’fly demonstrator project aims to demonstrate the practicality of this flight

technique—known as “wake-energy retrieval”—for commercial aircraft. Each in-flight aircraft

makes a wake, so positioning a supporter airplane within the air upwash of the leader could help

the follower to harvest the benefits of this “free” lift. In reality, agreeing to preparatory considers

conducted by the Airbus fello’fly group, this collaborative action may create fuel savings of

between 5-10% per fello’fly trip. The technical solution Airbus is working on involves pilot

assistance functions needed to ensure the aircraft pilots are flying remain safely positioned in the

updraft of air of the aircraft they are following, maintaining the same distance, at a steady

altitude (Biomimicry: a fresh approach to aircraft innovation 2020).

Another adaptation is from shark’s tail, used as its propeller: it moves forward by

swinging its tail back and forward, which pushes water around its fins. Aircraft move forward in

the same way, pushing air around their wings to create lift. The shark also has dorsal fins that

work precisely just like the vertical stabilizer wing on an aircraft, giving it exceptional mobility.

In 2013, Airbus presented “sharklets”—or vertical wing-tip expansions that take after a shark’s

dorsal fin—as a retrofit to its A320 Family airplane. These streamlined surfaces, which are

mounted vertically at the wingtips, essentially diminish the size of the wingtip vortex, hence

decreasing induced drag. Nowadays, all individuals of the A320neo Family are fitted with

sharklets as a standard (Biomimicry: a fresh approach to aircraft innovation 2020).

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The design and improvement of consistent surfaces is one area of aircraft designs that

could have huge ecological outcomes and should draw its motivation from nature. On the present

commercial carriers, about 40% of drag can be ascribed to the fierce limit layer - a thin layer of

air simply over the airplane's skin that makes contact. A ceaselessly adjusting consistent surface

that destroys the disturbance in this layer could essentially eliminate the skin rubbing drag

(Biomimicry: a fresh approach to aircraft innovation 2020).

The biomimicry emerging field deals with new technologies honed from bio-inspired

engineering at the micro and macro scale levels. Embracing biomimicry innovation is to enable

us to see the world through the eyes of a creature which could help in growing and developing

better visual presentations in the creation of a solution to a human problem.

Opinion to the Articles

Humans gained inspiration from nature by emulating designs and concepts contained in

nature, in developing solutions to human problems. The curiosity of man on how birds fly has

sparked the joy and determination to apply this skill in creating aircrafts that are capable of

flight.

Aircrafts we see today have more bird traits which led to making them more powerful,

efficient, environmentally sustainable, and safer. In the construction of intelligent wings that

naturally react to environmental factors, the idea of biomimicry is close to that of a hawk or a

peregrine bird of prey. Airbus could mount sensors that can recognize changing environments in

an aircraft's wings and cause rapid reactions to the data.

The adaptation of the tail of the shark, used as a propeller. Aircrafts has step forward in

the same manner, moving air to build lift across their wings. The shark also has dorsal fins that
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function much like the vertical wing of the stabilizer on the plane, giving it extraordinary

mobility. As retrofit to the A320 family aircraft, Airbus added "sharklets" – or vertical wing-tip

extensions following a shark's dorsal fin. These streamlined surfaces, which are placed vertically

at the wingtips, effectively minimize the size of the wingtip vortex, thereby reducing the induced

drag.

Conclusion

For human beings, nature has always been a role model, especially in the field of

engineering. By using nature to evaluate our inventions, it helps us overcome our everyday

human problems. Biomimicry allows one to recognize and appreciate biology as innovation

mentors. It allows us to see the world from the eyes of a creature, which could help to provide a

solution to the human dilemma and to produce better visual presentations. This is what driven us

to make changes to our aircraft by modernization, remanufacturing, research and development.

Aviation began from curiosity of how birds fly to high-speed, powerful jet-powered aircraft that

we have today. Engineers take inspiration from the characteristics of animals and their

microscopic characteristics that allow them to incorporate structures that are important to the

objective of our engineers and researchers. These current developments would certainly provide

a way for the industry to conduct high-speed flights without disrupting noise, decreased fuel

consumption, environmentally efficient zero-carbon flights, and a much sustainable aircraft that

will help to narrow the boundaries of the continents.

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REFERENCES

(n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/

Airbus. (2020, March 12). Biomimicry: A fresh approach to aircraft innovation. Retrieved

November 20, 2020, from https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/stories/biomimicry-a-fresh-

approach-to-aircraft-innovation.html

Airbus. (n.d.). Airbus Uses Biomimicry to Boost Aircraft Environmental Performance. Retrieved

November 20, 2020, from

https://www.sme.org/technologies/articles/2019/november/airbus-uses-biomimicry-to-

boost-aircraft-environmental-performance/

Blogjfa. (1970, January 01). Biomimetics: The nature as a source of inspiration for A350 XWB

design. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from

http://bloga350.blogspot.com/2014/10/biomimetics-nature-as-source-of.html

Reals, K. (2010, August 09). Aircraft engineers turn to biomimicry for greener designs.

Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://www.flightglobal.com/aircraft-engineers-turn-

to-biomimicry-for-greener-designs/95210.article

Sunderland, R. (2017, May 08). How birds are helping Airbus build quieter planes. Retrieved

November 20, 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-4486224/How-

birds-helping-Airbus-build-quieter-planes.html
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What is biomimicry? Definition and examples of biomimicry. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20,

2020, from https://youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-what-is-biomimicry-

definition-examples/