Harvesting Fog Can Provide Fresh Water in Desert Regions

SEATTLE, November 26, 2019 – Fog harvesting is a potential practical source of fresh water in foggy coastal deserts, and current solutions rely on meter scale nets/meshes. The mesh geometry, however, presents a physiologically inappropriate shape for millimeter scale bulk bodies, like insects.

Fan Kiat Chan, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offers biomimetic fog-gathering technologies based on Namib desert beetles as a potential solution. Chan will discuss how surface morphology can affect surrounding flow for droplet yield during a session at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics 72nd Annual Meeting, which will take place on Nov. 23-26, 2019, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

“The idea of using fog as a source of fresh water has been studied since the 1980s in various locations,” Chan said. These studies have led to fog collection using nets and meshes, which are now commonly used in places like Chile and Morocco, among many others. The design was drawn from fog interception methods used by trees and can typically collect about 53 gallons of water on an average day.

However, Namib desert beetles use a different harvesting mechanism than trees do. These insects use the irregular surface morphology — uneven bumps and flat areas — on their backs to gather fresh water from desert fog. Inspired by the Namib beetle, Chan and collaborators Aida Shahrokhian and Hunter King, from Mechanical Biomimetics and Open Design Lab at the University of Akron, study how surface morphology affects the surrounding fluid flow, consequently leading to droplet impaction for harvesting.

“Similar principles could perhaps be used to design water bottles that are capable of collecting fog, enabling a more portable source,” said Chan.

Chan will discuss the observed increase in collector’s efficiency when surface textures, such as bumps like those of Namib desert beetles, are introduced. Combined with mesh-based designs, these collectors can provide an additional opportunity for freshwater harvesting in areas with limited precipitation.

“The water content and frequency of fog formation may vary depending on the location and the season,” he said. “While precipitation may be infrequent in some regions, it is, however, important to realize that fog is nonetheless a predictable and, hence, reliable water source.”

The talk, “Surface morphology and flow dynamics for fog harvesting,” will be presented at 7:45 a.m. Pacific (U.S.) on Tuesday, Nov. 26 as part of the session on general fluid dynamics.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–

USEFUL LINKS

Main meeting website: https://www.apsdfd2019.org/

Meeting technical program: http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD19/Content/3770

Invited talks: http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD19/APS_Invited

Hotel information: https://www.apsdfd2019.org/hotels

GALLERY OF FLUID DYNAMICS

At the Annual Meeting, The Gallery of Fluid Motion will consist of posters and videos submitted by attendees illustrating the science and beauty of fluid motion. More information can be found here: https://www.apsdfd2019.org/gallery-of-fluid-motion

PRESS REGISTRATION

We will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact [email protected]. We can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips or background information.

LIVE MEDIA WEBCAST

A press briefing featuring a selection of newsworthy research will be webcast live from the conference on Monday, Nov. 25. Times and topics to be announced. Members of the media should register in advance at  https://webcast.apswebcasting.com/go/aps-nov25-19.

ABOUT DFD

The Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society, established in 1947, exists for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the physics of fluids with special emphasis on the dynamical theories of the liquid, plastic and gaseous states of matter under all conditions of temperature and pressure. For more information about DFD, visit https://www.aps.org/units/dfd/.

ABOUT APS

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents over 55,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. For more information about APS, visit https://www.aps.org/.

Original post https://alertarticles.info