MARINE SPONGES CAN PROTECT STRUCTURES?!
Here at Karins, we like to keep up with the latest and greatest in engineering technology.
A team of researchers from Harvard University have found an alternative way to protect structures from the damages of vortex shedding, which is a periodic swirling flow pattern that can form behind a blunt object as fluid moves past it. A deep water marine sponge, Euplectella aspergillum, has a complex skeletal structure that can suppress vortex shedding better than most current technologies. Today’s methods don’t actually prevent vortex shedding, instead it shifts it more downstream, while the sponge’s unique maze-like structure can stop vortex shedding from happening across a wide range of flow regimes. In nature, the sponge's structure helps it stay anchored underwater, while in engineering it has the potential to protect tall structures from wind damage and prevent future structural disasters.
Read more about this unique structure design here:
Check out the full research here:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0559
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