EPSRC: Beetles inspire a new generation of technology.
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Thursday, 27, Sep 2007 12:00
An amazing insect that sprays its predators with toxic steam has inspired work to develop new types of nebulisers, needle-free injections, fire extinguishers and powerful fuel injection systems.
The research funded initially by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and subsequently by Swedish Biomimetics 3000, has enabled a team from the University of Leeds to examine the mechanisms at work in the bombardier beetle.
The team, led by Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory at Leeds, Andy McIntosh, has developed new technology (µMist™) which has the potential to become the platform for the next generation of more effective and eco-friendly mist carrier systems.
Just 2cm long, the beetle defends itself against all-comers – frogs, spiders, birds and insects – with a cocktail of steam and stinging chemicals which it can blast for distances of up to 20cm from a combustion chamber which is less than 1 mm long. The chemical and physical characteristics of the spray and the insect’s physiology have been simulated using a scaled-up experimental rig in Prof McIntosh’s laboratory at Leeds and built by Novid Beheshti and Andreas Prongidis with the expertise of skilled technician Steve Caddick. The rig uses heating and flash evaporation techniques to propel a variety of liquids and its 2cm chamber can blast the fluid for up to 4 metres or at the other extreme produce a ‘soft mist’ with droplets as small as 2 microns.
The µMist™ spray technology enables droplet size, temperature and velocity to be closely controlled, allowing advancements in a variety of areas where the properties of the mist are critical. Such applications include fuel injection, medical drug delivery systems, fire extinguishers and fire suppression, all of which face major challenges relating to the demands of greater performance and reduced environmental impact.
Each of these sectors is actively seeking the next generation of mist systems. The dynamic electronic tuning capability of the mist’s properties presents the unique potential to sense the optimal mist characteristics required and then adjust accordingly, in real time. In areas such as soft mist inhalers and fire suppression, the new technology offers a major leap forward in performance.
In the medical field, the technology could provide a water-based carrier for propelling substances such as drugs, replacing conventional propellants which are potential pollutants. Used with fuels, this technology offers the potential to substantially increase fuel burning efficiency, improving fuel consumption and minimising exhaust pollution.
Prof McIntosh likens the beetle’s defence mechanism to a pressure cooker controlled by a complicated system of valves: "Essentially it's a high-force steam cavitation explosion. Using a chamber less than one millimetre long, this amazing creature has the ability to change the rapidity of what comes out, its direction and its consistency.
"Nobody had studied the beetle from a physics and engineering perspective as we did – and we didn't appreciate how much we would learn from it.”
Notes for Editors:
There are 500 species of bombardier beetle, mostly found in hotter areas of the world – Africa, Asia and South America – though there are some small colonies in the UK. Their tiny fluid chambers typically react hydroquinone with hydrogen peroxide to produce a fiery blast of steam, though different species use slightly different combinations of exhaust nozzle arrangements.
Prof McIntosh’s research was inspired by entymologist Prof Tom Eisner of Cornell University who has worked for a number of years on the bombardier beetle. Ultra slow motion pictures shot by Eisner showed how the bombardier beetle expels fluid through a series of rapid pulses – the pressure in the insect's fluid chamber causing the liquid to be ejected, followed by a drop in pressure, which allows more fluid to enter and the pressure to build up once more.
Swedish Biomimetics 3000® Ltd has signed a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement for the development and commercialisation of the µMist™ technology. Potential application opportunities arising from the work have been filed for intellectual property rights.
Swedish Biomimetics 3000® Ltd is a V2PIO [virtual venture philanthropic intersectional organization] which funds translational research of biomimetics concepts to the point where they are commercially viable, when corporate partners are sought for the technology’s further development. It was founded 2004 in Sweden and has established an affiliated company in the UK. Swedish Biomimetics 3000® Ltd programs are supported by leading edge organisations including Quintiles Consulting Europe.
The University of Leeds is acclaimed for the quality of its teaching and research. One of the largest universities in the UK, Leeds is also the most popular among students applying for undergraduate courses. An emphasis on innovative research and investment in high-quality facilities and first-rate infrastructure means that no fewer than 35 departments are rated internationally or nationally 'excellent'.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests around £740 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK.
Website address for more information on EPSRC: www.epsrc.ac.uk/
For more information contact:
Professor Andy McIntosh via the University of Leeds press office on 0113 343 4031.
Three images are available from the EPSRC Press Office, contact: 01793 444404 or e-mail pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk