No other bird has this sort of intricate wing structure.
- Nigel Peake
An investigation into how owls fly and hunt in silence has enabled researchers to develop a prototype coating for wind turbine blades that could significantly reduce the amount of noise they make.
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.
The surface has been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with researchers at three institutions in the USA. Their results were due to be presented yesterday (Monday) at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aeroacoustics Conference in Dallas.
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Image: Flying snowy owl
Credit: m01229
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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