Biomimetic Research of Fish Mucus and Cargo Ships

Abstract

The goal of this research was to determine if one could increase the efficiency of drag and energy loss on containership hulls in the water by utilizing the principles of biomimetics. All species of fish contain a coat of mucus which makes the surface of the fish slippery and reduces drag, adds external protection and many additional advantages. The mucus layer fills the gaps of a body to make a smooth and slippery surface for minimum drag while also providing hydrodynamic advantages by increasing velocity from which the surrounding fluid hits  the surface of the fish. Increase in efficiency during movement on water was determined by the different travel speeds using 2 cargo ship model boats (one was coated with fish mucus on the hull and the other one was left uncoated). It was observed that the ship with fish mucus on its hull increased in speed and decreased the drag force, thus making the travel more efficient. The data obtained in this experiment supports the hypothesis that cargo ships would use less fuel and waste less energy with a fish mucus-like synthetic on their hulls.