14 DAY TRIAL // The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) is currently engaged in a research effort that holds the promise of coming up with a brand new type of materials to be used in coating the Navy's ships. According to the engineers involved, the move will considerably reduce the drag that the ships are currently experiencing even in the calmest of waters, will increase speed and also decrease pollution levels. Less drag means less burnt fuel, and therefore less carbon dioxide for those ships not running on nuclear propulsion.
In the open waters, biofilm can add as much as 20 percent drag to a ship, as well as barnacles of over 60 percent, drastically reducing speed, and requiring the consumption of a large amount of fuel to counteract the effects of the drag. Basically, the ONR is now involved in research seeking to understand how biofouling actually works, and what the best method of reducing its spread is, or getting rid of it completely. In search for their answers, the researchers again turned to nature for inspiration, and inspiration they found.
Researchers at the Office enlisted the help of Anthony Brennan, PhD, a professor of material science and engineering at the University of Florida. The expert noticed that, in nature, large marine animals such as sharks and whales remain relatively clean from barnacles, despite their sizes. Brennan found that, in fact, it wasn't a substance that prevented the microorganisms from depositing themselves on the skin of the animals, but specially-designed patterns in the skin itself. After careful analysis of these intricate and effective models, he built a biomimetic “biofilm-repellent” coating named the Sharklet.
“I saw a Navy ship going by, flowing with green algae. I thought that's why we are doing this research, to stop that biofouling, to give our Navy the ability to perform at a higher level,” Brennan said.
“ONR has brought together biologists, geneticists, chemists, material engineers, chemical engineers, physicists and we end up sharing. It says a lot of our Navy to have that forethought to reach beyond what everybody sees in front of them and go for something new and innovative that will help the Navy and benefit the world,” he concluded, adding that the commercial fleets could eventually benefit from the innovation as well.