'Butterfly' technique
to make
solar energy cheaper
solar energy cheaper
London,:
Mimicking the v-shaped posture adopted by a butterfly species to heat up its
flight muscles before take-off, the amount of power produced by solar panels
can increase by almost 50 percent, a study led by an Indian-origin scientist Tapas Mallick has found.
Increased efficiency of
solar energy production with the new technique could also lower its cost.
"Biomimicry in
engineering is not new. However, this truly multidisciplinary research shows
pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before,"
said study lead author Tapas Mallick, professor at University of Exeter in
Britain.
The Cabbage White
butterflies are known to take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days -
which limit how quickly the insects can use the energy from the sun to heat
their flight muscles.
This ability is thought to
be due to the v-shaped posturing they adopt on such days to maximise the
concentration of solar energy onto their thorax, which allows for flight.
Furthermore, specific
sub-structures of the butterflies' wings allow the light from the sun to be
reflected most efficiently, ensuring that the flight muscles are warmed to an
optimal temperature as quickly as possible.
The team of scientists
therefore investigated how to replicate the wings to develop a new, lightweight
reflective material that could be used in solar energy production.
The scientists found that
the optimal angle by which the butterfly should hold its wings to increase
temperature to its body was around 17 degrees, which increased the temperature
by 7.3 degrees Centigrade compared to when held flat.
They also showed that by
replicating the simple mono-layer of scale cells found in the butterfly wings
in solar energy producers, they could vastly improve the power-to-weight
rations of future solar concentrators, making them significantly lighter and so
more efficient.
The study was published in
the journal Scientific Reports.
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