Owl wing design to quiet turbines

A new material that could make wind turbines and even aircraft quieter by mimicking the design of owls’ wings that allows them to silently hunt their prey has been developed by scientists.

The Cambridge University-led Anglo-American team studied the feathers of the nocturnal airborne predators to produce the coating, and was unveiled at a US conference.

Because of the noise they make, wind turbines are often braked to make them turn more slowly and quietly, but the team behind the new material say that it could enable the machines to turn faster and boost their output without increasing noise as a side-effect.

The team said they used powerful microscopes to look at owl wings. They found that they have a “downy covering” to their flight feathers, plus bristles on their on the leading of their wings and an “elastic fringe” on the trailing edges.

The discovery enabled the team to make a 3D printed plastic cover for a wind turbine, which reduced the noise it generated in wind tunnel tests by 10 decibels. They believe it can be adapted for other types of wings and blades and want to move on to improve the coating further.