Whale fin study directly improves wind turbine energy efficiency

Researchers are working to translate the natural innovations in Dolphin & Whale evolution into manmade technologies on land, air and sea.

Frank Fish of West Chester University in Pennsylvania began to study the humpback whale fin after he noticed bumps along the front edge of the flipper. “It just didn’t make sense,” Fish said. One of the cardinal lessons of fluid mechanics is that the leading edge of a fin or wing needs to be smooth to create the flow that provides lifting force.

Through modeling and wind tunnel studies done by colleagues, Fish determined that the bumps on the whales’ fins do indeed serve an important purpose. Among its advantages is it overcomes what’s known as “stall” — the angle at which a wing no longer experiences lift, but only drag, so it loses its ability to act as an airfoil.

Putting bumps across the leading edge of a wind turbine would mean that the blades can be oriented at a higher angle to capture more of the wind without worrying about stall — which can damage the turbines.

Fish has teamed up with Stephen Dewar to form the Toronto-based company WhalePower to commercialize this approach. They are also targeting industrial fans. “We can move more air and ventilate more area with fewer blades,” Fish added. The whale-inspired fans also use 20 percent less power and operate with one-fifth the noise of a standard fan, Dewar said.

From Discovery Channel: Read more

Falmouth dead dolphins: military sonar to blame?

The bodies were found at four sites on the River Percuil in south Cornwall on Monday. Rescuers guided some surviving mammals back out to sea.

The dolphins that died after beaching in Cornwall had ingested debris and mud, leading one of the [very stupid] scientists who examined them to compare their deaths to “mass suicide”.

The Royal Navy was doing live firing exercises involving a submarine in the area at the time, and the Ministry of Defence said one of its vessels had been using short-range sonar to scan the sea bed.

Naval sonar can generate noise up to 235dB - that’s one million times louder than the loudest noise any whale can make…

From The Guardianonline: watch interactive presentation

Olympic swimmers learn from Sharks

When winning an Olympic gold medal in swimming is the goal, it helps to take inspiration from some of the best swimmers in the world — sharks and dolphins — and that is exactly what U.S. Olympic team swimmers have been doing as they train.

From suits to strokes, coaches, researchers and other advisers are making sure that their athletes benefit from fish and marine mammals’ natural swimming abilities.

“Some of our athletes are now wearing what are called ’shark skin suits,’” Russell Mark, biomechanics coordinator for U.S.A. Swimming, told Discovery News.

“These aren’t made of actual shark skin, of course, but they are slippery in feel, like sharks, and they make the wearer move faster than normal in the water by reducing friction and drag,” he explained.

Mark also indicated that excelling at the dolphin kick can make or break a swimmer’s race.

From Discovery News: Read more