{"id":6688,"date":"2025-10-07T13:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/?p=6688"},"modified":"2025-10-27T14:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T03:15:16","slug":"biomimicry-from-shark-skin-to-heat-exchangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/cfd\/biomimicry-from-shark-skin-to-heat-exchangers\/","title":{"rendered":"From Shark Skin to Heat Exchangers: Biomimicry + Simulation as an Engineering Framework"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Guest Blog by Dr. Aakash Shaun Hurry, <\/strong>Edith Cowan University<\/strong><\/p>

What if the secret to advancing thermal performance lies in shapes that nature has refined over millions of years?<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>

Rethinking Heat Exchanger Geometries Through Nature<\/strong><\/p>

My PhD research set out to answer a simple but powerful question: can inspiration from biology help us design more efficient heat exchangers? Heat exchangers are the hidden engines of modern life. From power plants and aircraft engines to data centres and electric vehicles, they keep critical systems stable by transferring heat. Yet despite their importance, most heat exchanger fins have remained unchanged for decades, typically relying on rectangular, cylindrical or elliptical shapes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Figure 1: Illustration of dermal denticles on the \u00a0shark skin.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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At the same time, nature has been refining geometries for millions of years. Sharks, for example, owe their speed and agility not just to muscle power but also to their skin, which is covered in microscopic tooth-like scales called denticles (Figure 1). These denticles manipulate fluid flow and help reduce drag by delaying flow separation and inducing streamwise vortices. If evolution can shape efficient swimmers, could similar structures also help engineers improve thermal systems?<\/p>

That idea became the foundation of my doctoral work at Edith Cowan University. Using a combination of CFD (Ansys Fluent), additive manufacturing, and laboratory testing. I explored how shark denticle geometry could be applied to heat exchanger fins and as surface textures, validated against experiments and ultimately optimised beyond what nature provides.<\/p>

Building a Biomimetic Workflow<\/strong><\/p>

To move this idea from concept to reality, I developed a systematic workflow:<\/p>

  1. Reverse Engineering: Based on published SEM and micro-CT scans, I reconstructed shark denticle geometries and translated them into parametric CAD models.<\/li>
  2. Additive Manufacturing: High-resolution 3D printing in stainless steel produced physical prototypes.<\/li>
  3. Benchmarking: Conventional fin designs : rectangular, elliptical and cylindrical were used as baselines for the simulations.<\/li>
  4. Experimental Validation: A custom wind tunnel rig was designed and validated to test for pressure drop and heat transfer, with uncertainty reduced to below 3 percent.<\/li>
  5. CFD Simulation: Conjugate heat transfer simulations in ANSYS Fluent employed poly-hexcore meshing and the k\u2013\u03c9 SST turbulence model for robust near-wall predictions.<\/li>
  6. Shape Optimisation: Using Fluent\u2019s adjoint solver, I performed gradient-based optimisation to maximise heat flux while controlling drag penalties.<\/li><\/ol>

    This approach turned biomimicry from inspiration into a structured engineering method, supported by both experimental evidence and advanced simulation.<\/p>

    Results that Redefine Baselines<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Figure 2: Numerical results indicating regions of turbulence and surface heat transfer coefficient.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    As illustrated in Figure 2, the results showed clear differences between conventional and bio-inspired designs:<\/p>