The slippery low-friction surfaces have strong potentials in various applications, including drag reduction, anti-fouling, and anti-icing, etc. However, conventional low-friction surfaces, such as the superhydrophobic surface (SHS) and the lubricant-infused surface (LIS), lose their slippery properties when subjected to external stimuli. The low sustainability remains the major obstacle to their practical applications despite many attempts to enhance the durability of low-friction surfaces. Here a marine creature-inspired surface (MIS) having lubricant-infused spherical cavities with tiny opening is proposed as a promising low-friction surface for achieving sustainable turbulent drag reduction in a marine environment. The unique surface topography enables MIS to efficiently retain the infused lubricant and enhance the reduction of hydrodynamic frictional drag. The exceptional low-friction capability of the proposed MIS is demonstrated by measuring its frictional drag in high-speed flows up to 12 m/s, corresponding to the cruising velocity of a large container ship. Even in such highly turbulent flow conditions, the proposed nature-inspired surface reduces frictional drag by up to ∼39% compared with the bare aluminum surface, which is the best performance compared with other LIS surfaces reported in previous literature. Adoption of the proposed MIS coating on marine vehicles would result in significant energy savings and environmental protection.
周老师: 13321314106
王老师: 17793132604
邮箱号码: lub@licp.cas.cn