Fuel-Saving Paint System Based on Sharkskin

Thursday, May 20 2010

To lower the fuel consumption of airplanes and ships, it is necessary to reduce their flow resistance, or drag. A paint system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM makes this possible. Along with lowering costs, it also reduces CO2 emissions.

The inspiration and model for the paint's structure comes from the scales of fast-swimming sharks, which have evolved in a manner that significantly diminishes drag, or their resistance to the flow of currents. The challenge was to apply this knowledge to a paint that could withstand the extreme demands of aviation such as temperature fluctuations of -55 to +70 degrees Celsius, intensive UV radiation, and high speeds.

Yvonne Wilke, Dr. Volkmar Stenzel, and Manfred Peschka of the Fraunhofer Institute IFAM developed the paint that reduces aerodynamic drag as well as the associated manufacturing technology. Nanoparticles ensure that the paint withstands UV radiation, temperature change, and mechanical loads on an enduring basis.

"Paint offers more advantages," explains Dr. Volkmar Stenzel. "It is applied as the outermost coating on the plane, so that no other layer of material is required. It adds no additional weight, and even when the airplane is stripped – about every five years, the paint has to be completely removed and reapplied – no additional costs are incurred. In addition, it can be applied to complex three-dimensional surfaces without a problem."