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History:...Pressure allows movement: echinoderms...Bubble allows breathing underwater: Potamodytes beetle...Leaves given structural support: giant water-lily

Thank a Genius
Created: 2012-01-29
Updated: 2012-01-29

Spiral-shaped flow is optimal: bull kelp


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Slide_show_arrows  1 of 3 spirals / Dina Saleh / LicenseCopyright - All Rights Reserved

Stipes of bull kelp manage turbulence, allowing optimized flow by flexing into a logarithmic spiral.

Biomimicry Taxonomy
 
Taxonomy_1 Maintain physical integrity >
Taxonomy_2 Manage structural forces >
Taxonomy_3 Turbulence
Biomimetic Application Ideas
 
Pumps, fans, impellers, mixers, turbines, heat exchangers, ducts, and propellers that are quieter and more efficient, requiring less power and producing less heat to run.

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[Collapse all sections] Summary
Spiraling nautilus shells, swaying kelp, and skin pores all share a fundamental spiral geometry. This same spiral moves fluids more efficiently than the rotors and impellers humans have been designing for centuries. The pervasive logarithmic spiral pattern found throughout the natural world is an optimal flow form, allowing fluids to travel as fast as possible without transitioning from a laminar to turbulent flow. (Courtesy of the Biomimicry Guild)
About the inspiring organism
Med_171074187_a41335001e_o Bull kelp
Nereocystis luetkeana (Mertens) Postels & Ruprecht
[Seatron, bull kelp]

IUCN Red List Status: Unknown
Habitat(s): Marine Coastal/Supratidal

Some organism data provided by: AlgaeBase
Organism/taxonomy data provided by:
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist
Bioinspired products and application ideas

Application Ideas: Pumps, fans, impellers, mixers, turbines, heat exchangers, ducts, and propellers that are quieter and more efficient, requiring less power and producing less heat to run.

Industrial Sector(s) interested in this strategy: Manufacturing, energy, electronics, construction

PAX Scientific; PAX Water Technologies; PAX Streamline; PAX Mixer; PAX Fan - Fluid mixers and impellers; Fans; Heat Exchangers; Boats

Flat Rainshower from Moen® - Low-flow showerhead

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