Manufacturing Bio-Inspired Material Surfaces for Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Applications

Abstract

Better use of material and energy resources is fundamental in any human activity. Finding better and more sustainable solutions might be inspired by nature herself. The natural evolution of life has shown a successful testing path of sustainable solutions that can be the inspiring starting point for engineering and manufacturing new directions of continuous improvement. This is the role that biomimicry can play. Evolution has been continuously testing this end, thriving strategies with better optimization in its yield. Keeping nature at the center of every design process will lead in the right direction. This is the role that biomimicry can play. Biomimicry or bioinspiration makes the most of the following methodologies: observing how evolution has achieved efficient strategies in any field of interest and realizing how to implement them or having a problem to solve and searching in Nature to find guidance or inspiration to succeed. Through a systematic review of some of the latest developments in manufacturing, focused on their capability to approach (mimic) natural textures; some applications are characterized and tested successfully to reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency, or reduce friction, among other potential improvements. In nature, actual surfaces present a functional texture. Natural evolution has developed textures showing real advantages for different functional purposes. Analyzing those natural surfaces can improve engineering surfaces’ qualitative and quantitative design. A correlation between scales, manufacturing processes, and natural strategies (surface features) will help map new product and engineering design areas of interest. This paper explores these correlations of natural surfaces with functional characteristics that make them sustainable and appropriate for inspiring research directions in manufacturing engineering surfaces. It mainly looks for contributions to efficient energy use in engineered solutions.