The University of Cambridge, in collaboration with three US institutes Virginia Tech, Lehigh and Florida Atlantic universities, has studied how owls fly and hunt in silence, to come up with the prototype coating.
Tests have proved that the material can reduce the amount of noise substantially in wind turbines and other types of fan blades used in computers, planes, etc.
Researchers are presenting the results at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aeroacoustics Conference in Dallas.
University of Cambridge department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics professor and lead researcher Nigel Peake said: "Many owls, primarily large owls like barn owls or great grey owls, can hunt by stealth, swooping down and capturing their prey undetected.
"While we’ve known this for centuries, what hasn’t been known is how or why owls are able to fly in silence."
Using a high resolution microscopy, researchers studied the owl feathers to find out that they have a downy covering, a flexible comb of evenly-spaced bristles along their leading edge, and a porous and elastic fringe on the trailing edge.
"Much of the noise caused by a wing originates at the trailing edge where the air passing over the wing surface is turbulent. The structure of an owl’s wing serves to reduce noise by smoothing the passage of air as it passes over the wing – scattering the sound so their prey can’t hear them coming."
Based on the study results, researchers developed a prototype material made of 3D-printed plastic, which reduced the wind turbine blade noise by 10dB.
The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation and the US Office of Naval Research.
Image: Researchers studied the feathers of owls to develop the 3D plastic coating. Photo: courtesy of the University of Cambridge.
