TY - JOUR
T1 - Nature-Inspired Windmill for Water Collection in Complex Windy Environments
AU - Wang, Yuanfeng
AU - Liang, Xin
AU - Ma, Kaikai
AU - Zhang, Haoran
AU - Wang, Xiang
AU - Xin, John H.
AU - Zhang, Qi
AU - Zhu, Shiping
PY - 2019/5/15
Y1 - 2019/5/15
N2 - Nature-inspired water collection technology has been well-recognized as an effective solution for relieving water shortage hardships, and yet remains challenging when being used in an actual natural environment. In this work, we have successfully developed a promising water-collecting windmill that can be used in complex windy environments, by taking integrative inspiration from the liquid-manipulation strategies adopted by rice leaves, cacti, Nepenthes pitcher plants, and butterflies. The unique directional grooves on the blade surface with ridge-like walls with a shape gradient, combined with a molecular slippery layer, are crucial for not only water deposition but also directional drainage in water collection. Besides, the engineering design of rotatable blades turns the adverse effect of strong winds into a positive one, along with the nature-inspired surface topography and physicochemical property. Such a novel windmill has shown unprecedented water-collecting performance in a static environment, in strong wind, and in intermittent wind. Furthermore, the windmill can sense the wind-blowing direction and adjust its facing direction accordingly to ensure maximum utilization of wind power. It is believed that this work will bring a broad guiding significance to the design of smart water-harvesting materials and devices for application in more complex situations.
AB - Nature-inspired water collection technology has been well-recognized as an effective solution for relieving water shortage hardships, and yet remains challenging when being used in an actual natural environment. In this work, we have successfully developed a promising water-collecting windmill that can be used in complex windy environments, by taking integrative inspiration from the liquid-manipulation strategies adopted by rice leaves, cacti, Nepenthes pitcher plants, and butterflies. The unique directional grooves on the blade surface with ridge-like walls with a shape gradient, combined with a molecular slippery layer, are crucial for not only water deposition but also directional drainage in water collection. Besides, the engineering design of rotatable blades turns the adverse effect of strong winds into a positive one, along with the nature-inspired surface topography and physicochemical property. Such a novel windmill has shown unprecedented water-collecting performance in a static environment, in strong wind, and in intermittent wind. Furthermore, the windmill can sense the wind-blowing direction and adjust its facing direction accordingly to ensure maximum utilization of wind power. It is believed that this work will bring a broad guiding significance to the design of smart water-harvesting materials and devices for application in more complex situations.
KW - nature-inspired
KW - self-adjusting
KW - strong wind
KW - water collection
KW - windmill
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065757136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.9b01294
DO - 10.1021/acsami.9b01294
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 31007005
AN - SCOPUS:85065757136
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 11
SP - 17952
EP - 17959
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 19
ER -