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NASA tests bug gut-proof coating on planes
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Smashed bug guts are more than just disgusting — they can also create fuel-draining drag when smeared all over the surface of an airplane wing.
In an attempt to solve this issue, NASA researchers tested five different wing coatings in Louisiana at Shreveport Regional Airport – a small airport known for its bug problem. Tests involved a Boeing 757 making 15 flights.
“One of the five coating/surface combinations showed especially promising results,” Fay Collier, project manager for the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project, said in a press release.
Because insect are generally found close to the ground, the ERA coatings tests included several takeoffs and landings. The team said they were determined to solve the problem of reduced aerodynamics caused by bug splatter accumulating on aircraft wings.
Bug off!
“Laminar aircraft wings are designed to be aerodynamically efficient,” said Mia Siochi, senior materials scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. “If you have bugs accumulating, it causes the airflow to trip from smooth or laminar to turbulent, causing additional drag. An aircraft that’s designed to have laminar wings flying long distance can save five to six percent in fuel usage.”
“Surprisingly, all you need are little bugs that trip the flow and you lose part of this benefit,” she added.
The team said they began their work by in investigating just what happens when a bug strikes an aircraft and its guts explode all over the plane.
“We learned when a bug hits and its body ruptures, the blood starts undergoing some chemical changes to make it stickier,” Siochi said. “That’s basically the survival mechanism for the bug.”
Taking advice from a lotus
The researchers then turned to Mother Nature for inspiration in designing their non-stick materials. They said they found particular inspiration in the leaves of the lotus plant.
“When you look at a lotus leaf under the microscope, the reason water doesn’t stick to it is because it has these rough features that are pointy,” Siochi said. “When liquid sits on the microscopically-rough leaf surface, the surface tension keeps it from spreading out, so it rolls off. We’re trying to use that principle in combination with chemistry to prevent bugs from sticking.”
The team initially tested more than 200 coating formulations in a wind tunnel before selecting several formulations for test flights.
“There still is a lot of research to be done, but early data indicated one coating had about a 40 percent reduction in bug counts and residue compared to a control surface mounted next to it,” Collier said.
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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113401728/nasa-tests-bug-gut-proof-coating-on-planes-060215/
