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Biomimicry for Aerospace

Technologies and Applications

1st Edition - February 19, 2022

Editors: Vikram Shyam, Marjan Eggermont, Aloysius F. Hepp

Paperback ISBN:

9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 1 0 7 4 - 1

eBook ISBN:

9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 1 0 7 5 - 8

The solutions to technical challenges posed by flight and space exploration tend to be multidimensional, multifunctional, and increasingly focused on the interaction of systems… Read more

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The solutions to technical challenges posed by flight and space exploration tend to be multidimensional, multifunctional, and increasingly focused on the interaction of systems and their environment. The growing discipline of biomimicry focuses on what humanity can learn from the natural world. Biomimicry for Aerospace: Technologies and Applications features the latest advances of bioinspired materials–properties relationships for aerospace applications.

Readers will get a deep dive into the utility of biomimetics to solve a number of technical challenges in aeronautics and space exploration. Part I: Biomimicry in Aerospace: Education, Design, and Inspiration provides an educational background to biomimicry applied for aerospace applications. Part II: Biomimetic Design: Aerospace and Other Practical Applications discusses applications and practical aspects of biomimetic design for aerospace and terrestrial applications and its cross-disciplinary nature. Part III: Biomimicry and Foundational Aerospace Disciplines covers snake-inspired robots, biomimetic advances in photovoltaics, electric aircraft cooling by bioinspired exergy management, and surrogate model-driven bioinspired optimization algorithms for large-scale and complex problems. Finally, Part IV: Bio-Inspired Materials, Manufacturing, and Structures reviews nature-inspired materials and processes for space exploration, gecko-inspired adhesives, bioinspired automated integrated circuit manufacturing on the Moon and Mars, and smart deployable space structures inspired by nature.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
Preface
Part 1. Biomimicry in aerospace: Education, design and inspiration
Chapter One. Biomimicry and biodesign for innovation in future space colonization
1.1. Introduction
1.2. The entrepreneurial space industry
1.3. From biomimicry and bio-inspired design to bio-enhanced and biohybrid design, technology, and innovation
1.4. Applied research into biomimetic and algorithmic design
1.5. Bio-inspired, bio-enhanced, and biohybrid engineering: Speculative design concepts for space colonization
1.6. Current research in the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation: Case studies with undergraduate students
1.7. Conclusions
Chapter TWO. A bio-inspired design and space challenges cornerstone project
2.1. Introduction
2.2. NASA challenges
2.3. Ask Nature strategy research
2.4. Challenges and strategies diagrams
2.5. Strategies illustration
2.6. Designing and drawing the bio-inspired design solution
2.7. Data analysis
2.8. Conclusion
Chapter THREE. Toward systematic nature-inspired problem-solving for aerospace applications and beyond
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Biomimicry tool landscape
3.3. Virtual interchange for Nature-inspired Exploration: 2019 Biocene Tools Workshop
3.4. Analysis and discussion
3.5. Conclusions and future directions
Chapter Four. Parallels in communication technology and natural phenomena
4.1. Introduction
4.2. The Schmitt Trigger: Biomimetics and synchronicity
4.3. Sense and avoid: Collective motion in bird flocks and aircraft formations
4.4. Periodic structures: Crystals and electronic filters
4.5. Charles Darwin: Butterflies, genetic algorithms and microwave antennas
4.6. Color and light: Butterflies and dichroic mirrors
4.7. Smart materials: Artificial muscles and antennas
4.8. Whispers: Cathedrals and virus detectors
4.9. Spookiness: Quantum entanglement and advanced cryptography
4.10. Noise: Communications
4.11. Summary and conclusions
Chapter Five. Atacama Desert: Genius of place
5.1. Atacama Desert
5.2. Strategies adopted by species to survive in the Atacama Desert
5.3. Discussion
5.4. Conclusions
Chapter SIX. Bio-inspired design and additive manufacturing of cellular materials
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Cellular materials design
6.3. Cellular materials in nature
6.4. Additive manufacturing design constraints
6.5. Toward a methodology: Honeycomb panel case study
6.6. Summary
Part 2. Bio-inspired design: Aerospace and other practical applications
Chapter Seven. Biomimetic course design exploration for improved NASA zero gravity exercise equipment
7.1. Introduction
7.2. University of Akron biomimicry course: Response to NASA design challenge
7.3. Biomimetic improvements to the exercise device box and accessories
7.4. Biomimetic improvements to ropes and cables
7.5. Conclusions and future work
Chapter Eight. Biomimetics of boxfish: Designing an aerodynamically efficient passenger car
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Methodology
8.3. Results and discussion
8.4. Conclusions
Chapter Nine. Thresholds of nature: How understanding one of nature's penultimate laws led to the PowerCone, a biomimetic energy source
9.1. Background—thresholds abound
9.2. The moment of inspiration
9.3. Maple key aerodynamics
9.4. The first prototypes
9.5. Wind tunnel testing a PowerCone
9.6. Time-Dependent Energy Transfer and thresholds
9.7. Changing fluids: Tidal testing a PowerCone
9.8. New computational frontiers: PowerCone
9.9. Conclusion: Full-Scale Testing
Part 3. Biomimicry and foundational aerospace disciplines
Chapter Ten. Slithering across worlds—snake-inspired robots for extraterrestrial exploration
10.1. Bio-inspired design
10.2. Identifying the problem—traversing other worlds
10.3. Searching planetary analogs for a natural model
10.4. Snake locomotion—turning obstacles into advantages
10.5. Replicating snakes' success—bio-inspired snake robots
10.6. Applications and mission profiles
10.7. Conclusion: Bio-inspired snake robots for extraterrestrial exploration
Chapter Eleven. Biomimetic advances in photovoltaics with potential aerospace applications
11.1. Introduction
11.2. Solar applications in aerospace
11.3. Classes of solar cells
11.4. Losses in solar cells
11.5. Bio-inspired approaches for enhanced photovoltaics
11.6. Bioinspiration and solar concentrators
11.7. Honeycomb surface structures
11.8. Bio-inspired surface area enhancement
11.9. Modeling and simulation for photovoltaic power output optimization
11.10. Concluding remarks: Future outlook
Chapter Twelve. Electric aircraft cooling with bio-inspired exergy management
12.1. Introduction
12.2. Technology barriers for air vehicle adoption
12.3. Fault management challenge
12.4. Thermal management challenge
12.5. Integrated fault and thermal management
12.6. High-exergy heat extraction
12.7. Acoustic exergy pumping tubes
12.8. Thermally redirectable heat pipes
12.9. Integrated TREES system operation and test results summary
12.10. Conclusion
Chapter Thirteen. Surrogate model-driven bio-inspired optimization algorithms for large-scale and high-dimensional problems
13.1. Introduction
13.2. Surrogate models
13.3. Types of surrogate models
13.4. Surrogate model-driven bio-inspired optimization algorithm
13.5. Concluding remarks
Part 4. Bio-inspired materials, manufacturing and structures
Chapter Fourteen. Advancing research efforts in biomimicry to develop nature-inspired materials, processes for space exploration and more efficient aircraft
14.1. Introduction
14.2. Functional surfaces
14.3. Bio-inspired structural polymers and composites
14.4. Advanced materials processing technologies
14.5. Conclusions
Chapter Fifteen. Space applications for gecko-inspired adhesives
15.1. Introduction
15.2. Materials and adhesive types
15.3. Material choices for space applications of dry adhesives
15.4. Applications of dry adhesives
15.5. Challenges for dry adhesives specific to space environments
15.6. Summary and conclusions
Chapter Sixteen. Automated electronic integrated circuit manufacturing on the Moon and Mars: Possibilities of the development of bio-inspired semiconductor technologies for space applications
16.1. Introduction
16.2. Important steps in semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing
16.3. Materials required for integrated circuit fabrication: Availability on the Moon and Mars
16.4. The status of automated semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing
16.5. Additional technological requirements for establishing automated integrated circuit manufacturing units on the Moon and Mars
16.6. Possibilities of development of bio-inspired semiconductor technology for space applications
16.7. Discussion
16.8. Conclusions
Chapter Seventeen. Smart deployable space structures inspired by nature
17.1. Introduction
17.2. Bio-inspired smart structures
17.3. Mechanical analogs
17.4. Conclusions
Index

Vikram Shyam

Dr. Vikram Shyam is an adjunct professor at the University of Akron in the Mechanical Engineering department. He is also a research aerospace engineer who works as a futurist for NASA. He is the founder of the Virtual Interchange for Nature-Inspired Exploration (V.I.N.E.) at NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center. His interests include artificial intelligence, biomimicry, innovation design and futurology. Dr. Shyam is the recipient of NASA’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Affiliations and expertise

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, OH, USA

Marjan Eggermont

Dr. Marjan Eggermont is a Teaching Professor and faculty member at the University of Calgary in the Mechanical and Manufacturing department of the Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. She is also the Academic Director for Sustainable Engineering. Dr. Eggermont teaches in the areas of graphics, engineering design, visualization, and biomimicry. She co-founded and designs Zygote Quarterly (ZQ), an online journal to provide a platform to showcase the nexus of science and design using case studies, news, and articles. In 2005, she was one of the recipients of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Curriculum Innovation Award. She is a former board member of the American Society of Engineering Education.

Affiliations and expertise

Teaching Professor, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Aloysius F. Hepp

Aloysius F. Hepp earned a PhD in Inorganic Photochemistry in 1983 from MIT. He retired in December 2016 from the Photovoltaic & Electrochemical Systems Branch of the NASA Glenn Research Center. He was a visiting fellow at Harvard University from 1992-3. He was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement medal in 1997. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at University of Albany and Cleveland State University. He has been Chief Technologist, Nanotech Innovations LLC, Oberlin, OH, USA since 2012. Dr. Hepp has co-authored nearly 200 publications (including six patents) focused on processing of thin film and nanomaterials for I-III-VI solar cells, Li-ion batteries, integrated power devices and flight experiments, and precursors and spray pyrolysis deposition of sulfides and carbon nanotubes. He has co-edited twelve books on advanced materials processing, energy conversion and electronics, biomimicry and aerospace technologies. He is currently Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing (MSSP) and is currently the chair of the International Advisory Board of MSSP, as well as serving on the Editorial Advisory Boards of Mater. Sci. and Engin. B and Heliyon - all Elsevier journals.

Affiliations and expertise

Chief Technologist, Nanotech Innovations LLC and a Science Advisory Board Member, CoreWater Technologies, Inc., Oberlin, OH, USA