Industrial Pump Inspired By Bird Wings

Birds are unwitting masters of fluid dynamics, they manipulate airflow each time they flap their wings, pushing air in one direction and moving themselves in another. Two New York University researchers have taken inspiration from avian locomotion strategies and created a pump that moves fluid using vibration instead of a rotor. When a fluid is squeezed and expanded repeatedly, the asymmetric boundary forces the fluid to move in one direction.

The pump could be particularly useful in industrial situations where machinery is vibrating excessively and therefore operating inefficiently. Because it is powered by vibration, it could capture some of the wasted mechanical energy and instead use it for a productive task like circulating coolant. It would also dampen the noise that vibrating machinery tends to emit.

Source: sciencedaily.comAdded: 1 June 2015