Public Release: 


University of Cambridge


Early tests of the material, which mimics the intricate structure of an owl's wing, have demonstrated that it could significantly reduce the amount of noise produced by wind turbines and other types of fan blades, such as those in computers or planes. Since wind turbines are heavily braked in order to minimise noise, the addition of this new surface would mean that they could be run at much higher speeds - producing more energy while making less noise. For an average-sized wind farm, this could mean several additional megawatts worth of electricity.


"Many owls - primarily large owls like barn owls or great grey owls - can hunt by stealth, swooping down and capturing their prey undetected," said Professor Nigel Peake of Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, who led the research. "While we've known this for centuries, what hasn't been known is how or why owls are able to fly in silence."


"No other bird has this sort of intricate wing structure," said Peake. "Much of the noise caused by a wing - whether it's attached to a bird, a plane or a fan - originates at the trailing edge where the air passing over the wing surface is turbulent. The structure of an owl's wing serves to reduce noise by smoothing the passage of air as it passes over the wing - scattering the sound so their prey can't hear them coming."






The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation and the US Office of Naval Research.
