Shark Skin

‘Shark Skin’ Coating for Airliners May Cut Fuel Use by 4% – Delta is Testing on its 767 Fleet

An Australian aviation startup has developed an adhesive film inspired by

shark skin that reduces drag on aircraft due to its sandpaper-like texture.

Sharks are covered in tiny dermal grooves, often called riblets, which help a

shark swim faster using less energy. When such microscopic grooves are

applied via adhesive film to the exterior of an aircraft it can reduce drag by

“smoothing air flow”.

MicroTau says that when its ‘Riblet Modification’ is applied to the wings,

fuselage, and tail, the overall efficiency improvement is up to 4%.

“Across the global aviation fleet, this means billions of dollars in fuel saved

and millions of tons of CO2 emissions prevented,” says a company statement.

Recently, Delta Air Lines signed an agreement with MicroTau to test the Riblet

Modifications on Delta’s Boeing 767 fleet, as part of an “incubator lab” trying

to revolutionize the industry to be more sustainable. The Lab includes

partnerships with Airbus, Boeing, JetZero, and Ohio electric air taxi company,

Joby Aviation.

As the airline industry continues to look to nature for inspiring ways to lessen

its impact on carbon emissions (like using bio-fuel and designing new planes

to be like migrating geese), this new partnership will assess the fuel savings

created by MicroTau’s product on their way to a goal of net zero emissions by

2050.