A surface design inspired by leaf patterns may prove to be life-saving by preventing blackouts caused by the accumulation of frost — and its applications don't stop there.
The study from Northwestern University found that adjusting the texture of surfaces to resemble leaves — whose concave veins don't collect frost — halted frost formation for at least one week, making their method 1,000 times longer-lasting than top-of-the-line anti-frosting surfaces, according to a news release from the school.
To accomplish this, the team applied a very thin graphene oxide layer in the "veins." The film is scalable, making it a versatile solution for anti-frosting needs, and also resistant to contamination, fractures, and scratches. The team believes its frost-prevention technique could save companies and government agencies billions in maintenance costs and energy efficiency.
"The 2021 power crisis in Texas cost $195 billion in damages, resulting directly from frost, ice and extreme cold conditions for more than 160 hours. Thus, it is critical to develop anti-frosting techniques, which are robust for long periods of time in extreme environmental conditions," study lead Kyoo-Chul Kenneth Park explained.
Frost isn't just an expensive annoyance, as Northwestern researchers pointed out. Without anti-frosting technologies, air travel would become dangerous or grind to a halt, possibly causing snags in the global supply chain or hindering opportunities for connection.
Removing frost is also essential to keep electrical grids operational during winter storms, which have become more intense because of the rise of the global temperature.
Like extreme heat, extreme cold can be deadly. In 2021, as a study made available in the National Library of Medicine notes, the outage in Texas led to hundreds of deaths, including from hypothermia, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services.
Moreover, as NASA says, a century-plus of research indicates that humans are causing this problematic warming, especially with pollution from the burning of gas, oil, and coal. With much of the world still dependent on dirty fuels, boosting energy efficiency would result in less harmful pollution entering the atmosphere.
"Developing new anti-frosting techniques is crucial to preventing costly mechanical failures, energy inefficiencies, and safety hazards for critical operations," Park said in the release. "... With our new insights, we could design powerlines and airplane wings with reduced ice adhesion. These types of alterations would greatly reduce yearly maintenance costs."
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The latest breakthrough from Northwestern scientists is a continuation of 2020 research from Park's laboratory that also focused on the geometry of leaves, with computer simulations and experimental work helping to map condensation and evaporation patterns.
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