Penguins densely packed feathers overlap to allow waterproofing and heat. They cover their feathers with oil from a gland close their tail to enhance density.
As per National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, roughly eight percent of serious plane crashes from 1995 to 2000 are actually caused by the accumulation of ice on the wings and tails of planes, which often can affect aerodynamic properties of the plane and decrease the lift pressure that sustains it in the air.
In an article published in The Huffington Post, Dr. Pirouz Kavehpour, UCLA professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering said that the feathers of penguins are 'superhydrophobic' which implies that they are highly resistant to penetration by water.
The experts claimed that there are actually concepts that can be adopted from the composition of the feathers of penguins to layout useful anti-icing surfaces for aircraft wings, power lines, and several additional applications of relevance which could imply that airlines may no longer be at risk to ice buildup.
Dr. Kavehpour intended to acquire elevated conclusions so together with Dr. Jonathan Rothstein, University of Massachusetts professor and their colleagues, they performed an analysis on various feathers that were donated by SeaWorld San Diego under a scanning electron microscope.
The experts studied thoroughly at the feathers of the Gentoo penguin, which lives in Antarctica and the southernmost parts of South America. Additionally they contrasted the Gentoo feathers to feathers from the Magellanic penguin, which lives in warmer areas further north in Chile, Argentina, and even Brazil. The experts remarked that the Gentoo penguin feathers had an extra hydrophobic layer of oil not found on the other feathers -- the preen oil is spread over the feathers from a gland close to the bottom part of the penguin's tail.
On superhydrophobic areas, water droplets create a blob-like shape and take up the surface resembling spheres. Kavehpour and his colleagues suggest that it's the sphere-like geometry that delays ice buildup since the heat has a hard time moving out of the water droplet if the droplet does not create much contact with the surface.
"The change of shape slows the rate of heat transfer from the drop to the feathers. As a result, the droplet takes a significantly longer time to freeze," Kavehpour said. "At the same time, because the penguin feathers are superhydrophobic, water drops are extremely mobile so the water drops simply slide off the penguins before they have a chance to freeze."
Rather than using chemical de-icers, the experts concluded that the comparable superhydrophobic characteristics can perhaps be applied on the surfaces of airplanes.
As Kavehpour said in a statement, "It's a little ironic that a bird that doesn't fly could one day help an airplane fly more safely."
