It's all about reducing drag, fuel consumption

Jun 2, 2015 06:04 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this year, space agency NASA and aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing successfully tested a new generation of coatings designed to make planes and other craft bug guts-proof. 

The coatings' effectiveness in terms of keeping bug guts off planes was put to the test with the help of a Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757, which was made to complete 15 flights from the Shreveport Regional Airport in Louisiana, US.

In a report published yesterday, June 1, NASA scientists inform that, of the different coatings Boeing's ecoDemonstrator 757 was equipped with, one in particular showed great promise.

Specifically, this coating is said to have reduced the number of bugs that got stuck to the aircraft after having collided with it by about 40% when compared to a control surface. The same coating also reduced other residue.

“One of the five coating / surface combinations showed especially promising results,” explained Fay Collier, project manager of NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project.

“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,” the researcher went on to say.

How the anti-bug guts coatings were created

NASA explains that, to design these coatings, scientists first had to look at the chemistry of bugs. The chemistry of squashed bugs with their blood spilled and their guts spread out, to be more precise.  

The goal was to figure out why bugs turned mincemeat become sticky and what can be done to keep their obliterated remains from adhering to surfaces, the space agency goes on to detail.

Since the leaves of plants naturally repel water, the researchers working on this project turned to lotuses for inspiration in creating coatings that could do away with insect remains on airplanes.

At first, they developed about 200 coatings. These were tested in a wind tunnel, and the most effective of the bunch were then fitted on the ecoDemonstrator 757 for further research in real-life conditions.

Why even bother to keep bug guts off aircraft? 

Mind you, it's not that NASA and Boeing are utterly and completely obsessed with cleanliness and hate it when disintegrated insect corpses pile up by the hundreds on their otherwise perfect planes and spacecraft.

This endeavor to create coatings that make aircraft bug guts-proof has very little to do with aesthetics and a whole lot to do with safeguarding the environment and limiting climate change and global warming.

As explained by NASA researchers, insect entrails on aircraft are known to create drag. This translates into an increase in fuel consumption, which in turn means more pollution.

Hence, making aircraft resistant to bug guts boils down to making them more fuel-efficient and, consequently, more environmentally friendly. It's as simple as that.

“The active flow control and wing coating experiments on board the ecoDemonstrator 757 are part of several ERA technology demonstrations designed to help reduce aircraft fuel consumption, noise and emissions,” NASA writes in a statement.

NASA materials scientist Mia Siochi and systems engineer Mike Alexander, together with Boeing technician Felix Boyett, count insect residue on the right wing of the Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757
NASA materials scientist Mia Siochi and systems engineer Mike Alexander, together with Boeing technician Felix Boyett, count insect residue on the right wing of the Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757

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NASA is working on making bug guts-proof aircraft
NASA materials scientist Mia Siochi and systems engineer Mike Alexander, together with Boeing technician Felix Boyett, count insect residue on the right wing of the Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757
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