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Applications in fields so diverse like the renewable energies, the medicine, the air conditioning, the textile industry, the enclosures with glasses, the hygiene or the water sector, among others

Sustainable design. Biomimetismo

García Castle, I. And Domínguez, M. Engineering of the Design. UNED12/03/2013

The design biomimético (of the Greek, “life” and “mimesis”) basically consists in an imitation of the models, systems, processes and existent elements in the nature to resolve human problems eficientemente. But this imitation does not limit simply to copy the colours of a plant or an animal, but to analyse it more deeply to extract possible solutions. To continuation will treat to develop of a deeper way, to understand better, what nowadays means sustainable design based in the biomimetismo.

Sustainable design. Biomimetismo

The biomimetismo treats to create new materials through two fundamental ways: the analysis of the fabrics and internal structure of the biological natural designs, and the analysis of the operation of the complex natural proteins.

The nature considers a sustainable system since it uses and recycles his resources of efficient and continuous form, on the contrary that the majority of our form of life and technology, in which we refuse or damage the resources required. To be able to consider authentic the biomimetismo, would owe to possess the same sustainability that the nature. Thus there are currents that insist in that a project of biomimetismo has to do much more that imitate the design and efficiency of the nature, also would have to follow criteria in environingingment and sustainability. Of the contrary would be doing something totally opposite to the principles that pursue this new tendency.

Inventions based in the biomimetismo

The biomimetismo, like a process of innovation, generally descends of two possible steerings. Some times the designer sees a process in the nature and connects it to a technology or problem already existent. Other times studies a problem of existent design and resorts to the nature to look for help. Here it is where the biomimetismo serves like bridge between the biology and the engineering. Once discovered a form that has the nature to do what want to solve, the following challenge is to take this lesson and apply it in our design.

The biologist Janine M. Benyus (Benyus, 1997) has turned into one of his main representatives. In addition to being the president of the Biomimicry Institute, organisation that promotes the study and the imitation of the nature to improve the human designs, has recopilado tens of examples of design biomimético with his publications. This compilation is only a small part of the developments that has propiciado the biomimetismo.

Velcro.

The velcro

Perhaps one of the most known applications of the biomimética is the velcro. George of Mestral, invented in 1941 the velcro imitating the form in that determinate seeds adhered to the peel of the livestock.

Consists in two types of stravel of polyamide (nylon 66), one called hook, covered by cientos of garfios thin (roughly 50 units by cm²), and another called bow, formed by cientos of thin curls (also roughly 50 units by cm²).

Surfaces antisuciedad

In 1982 the botanic Wilhelm Barthlott, of the University of Bonn in Germany, discovered that the flower of loto has a surface that clean to himself same and is repelente to the water. A similar situation sucede with the leaves of the berro. The secret consists in that the leaves of the loto or the berro have a surface rugosa (granulated) only perceivable with the microscope. These granules, consistent in glasses of natural wax, have a size from among 200 and 5.000 µ m. This texture provides him a high superficial tension, doing that the drops of water purchase spherical form. Like this, the drops do not deposit , to the not finding any point of support on the material, and in his trip drag the dust and the dirt.

Barthlott Patented his discovery calling him the ‘effect loto'. It found commercial application in products like the painting biomimética Lotusan. The painting has the reputation to be repelente to the water and resist stains by decades.

Suits of bathroom imitating the leather of the sharks

Another of the also known applications of the biomimética is the one who carried to the design of the suits of bathroom of competition under the imitation of the leather of the sharks. The leather of the escualos is covered by small toothed flakes called denticles dérmicos, the water runs on this surface reducing the friction. The signature Speedo was the pioneer in the manufacture of these suits with which the nadadores broke several records world-wide in the World-wide Championships of Swimming of the year 2009.

The denticles dérmicos, besides, do that it was difficult that the crustaceans and seaweeds adhere to the leather of the shark. This characteristic has done that they are doing synthetic coatings with this structure to apply them to the helmets of the ships and prevent the incrustaciones that so much money cost in maintenance of the ships.

Systems of ventilation of inspired by buildings the humps that manufacture the termites

The constructors need a cheaper way to ventilate big buildings. They exist some African termites, that have to keep in his nest a temperature of 90 °C so that they do not die the larvae. To achieve it, build aberturas of ventilation very specific that constantly are moving the air through the nest, heating or cooling the nest to his own temperature.

The architects and engineers use already this technician imitating to the complex system of the termites. An example of this is the building Eastgate in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Similar material to the leg of the geco

The geco is a small lizard that has the peculiarity to have of some able legs to adhere to any surface. This is thanks to that the plants of the legs of the geco have of pelos microscopic that, thanks to the opposite electrical load between the molecules of the micropelillos and the molecules of the surface where find , do that his adhesion was perfect. The scientists have studied in great depth said natural mechanism of the lizard geco and want to take out to the new market materials that allow from gloves more adherentes until medical material with better qualities.

Cuticle of the insects of the insects

A group of researchers of the Institute Wyss of Engineering Inspired Biologically, in the University of Harvard, have developed a new material that imitates the strength, resistance and versatilidad of the cuticle of the insects. The material called shrilk is similar in resistance and hardness to an alloy of aluminium, but with only the half of weight. It is biodegradable and can produce to low cost, since the chitin is available like a product of waste of the camarón.

This material can be a cheap alternative and environingingmentally safe of the plastic. Besides when being excepcionalmente strong and biocompatible, could be used for suturar wounds that carry big loads, as in the repair of a hernia or like a support for the regeneration of fabrics.

Water from the air of the desert

The stenocara gracilipes is a beetle that lives in the desert of Namibia. To survive, obtains the water from the tiny drops that produce by the condensation of the humidity of the air to first hour of the morning. His exoskeleton possesses a structure recubierta of protuberances in shape of cúpula willing of hexagonal form. The small drops of the rocío condense in the smooth extreme of the protuberances and, when accumulating , fall by the shell in slope recubierto of wax directly to the mouth of the insect.

A solution in this field is the posed by Edward Linacre, of the Technological University of Melbourne. The Airdrop, that like this calls the invention, part of the principle that until the driest air contains molecules of water that can be recolectadas diminishing his temperature until the point of condensation. The artilugio pumps the pertinent cool air of some tubes buried to cool a surface where condense the water. The invention is able to extract until 11,5 ml of water by each m3 of air of the driest desert. At present it works with power solar, although future versions could work also with power wind.

Protective glasses of the birds

The birds can not see the glasses and the windows of the buildings are the main cause of death of the birds all over the world. But already it exists a species of inspired by glass the cloths of the spiders, the glass Ornilux, manufactured by a German company, Arnold Glas. The glass uses the same technicians that use the spiders to manufacture his cloth and avoid that the birds crash against the same.

An ultraviolet treatment converts the glass in something visible to the birds, without affecting to the vision of the humans. Besides, this coating reduces the risk of collision 75%, resulting more effective even that use stickers.

What sees the human eye - What see the birds

Birds and trains of high speed

The aim of the project was to avoid the brusque explosion against the air that produces when it goes out a train bleats Japanese at full speed of a tunnel. The researchers fixed in how plunges in the water, at full speed, a martín fisherman. The form of his beak was the solution that copied.

Imitation of the beak of the martín fisherman

Butterflies and finders of screens

The modern LED include mirrors to reflect the light and micro orifices that leave to happen the light trapped in the interior of the device by lateral diffusion. The butterflies also have of this adaptation, issuing green light-bluish employing a pigment. These incredible structures reflect the light in function of the distinct wavelength.

The same principle applies to create finders of screen more brilliant, more readable and with lower consumption of power in the electronic devices.

Aletas Of whales applied in shovels of aerogeneradores

The biomimetismo of the ocean operates also for the turbines out of the water. The president of WhalePower, Frank And. Fish, fixed in the form of the aletas of the whales to apply it to the shovels of his aerogeneradores.

The result are shovels that use the same physical principles that these aletas, with a lower level of noise and a greater efficiency in the generation of wind power.

Aletas Of whales applied in shovels of aerogeneradores.

Application of the biomimetismo in medicine

Every year die million boys owing to illnesses easily prevenibles with vaccines, such as the sarampión or the rubéola. Besides, the half of the vaccines lose because of the split of the chain in cold between the laboratory and the place of delivery.

The myrothamnus flabellifolia is a plant that grows in the centre and south of Africa. It possesses some fabrics that have the capacity to dehydrate and afterwards revive without conditions thanks to a substance azucarada produced by his cells. The company Cambridge Biostability has developed vaccines that do not need to be kept in cold basing in these substances azucaradas calls trehalosas.

The vaccines are vaporised with a coating of theralosa. Like this, they form inert spheres or drops azucaradas that can pack of form inyectable and keep in a briefcase of doctor during months and months.

Conclusions

Already of by himself the nature is a world fascinante for discovering and that surprises us each day. But, besides, the nature gives us guidelines of behaviour that can help us to resolve technical problems complexes, and to solve problems of design very sophisticated.

Very would be likely to live in a healthier world, more ecointeligente and more effective alone if before taking a decision did only a question: how it would solve it the nature?

The approach is to treat to imitate to the nature because this works, as it has showed it along almost 4.500 million years.

Although these affirmations have to seem evident, in some way are an utopia since the human being tries the more than the times look for complex solutions there where the ideal can be a simple solution.

Does not fit doubt that it would have to deepen more than what does nowadays in the field of the biomímesis, since when being a relatively new science, still remain a lot of unknown fields and that they could be applicable to other technicians or branches so much of the science, as of the design.

References

- Benyus, Janine. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. William Morrow. 1997.

- Martin, Amy. Ask the Planet. The Biomimicry Institute. 2009.

- Schneider, Michael. The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature. Art and Science. HarperCollins. 1995

Pages in internet

- http://www.faircompanies.com/news/view/5-tipologias-diseno-sostenible-c2cbiomimetico-y-mas/

- http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3178/top-eight-biomimicry-innovations

- http://cpdm.iisc.ernet.in/ideaslab/

- http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html

- http://www.asknature.org/

- http://www.cienciapopular.com/n/tecnologia/biomimetismo/biomimetismo.php

- http://www.infoener.com/biomimetismo-para-innovar-en-produccion-de-energia/67