10 MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
FROM THE COVER
Researchers learn how swimming ducks balance water pressure in their feathers while diving
by Alex Parrish
A team of students working with Jonathan Boreyko , associate professor in mechanical engineering , has discovered the method ducks use to suspend water in their feathers while diving , allowing them to shake it out when surfacing . The discovery opens the door for applications in marine technology . Findings were published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces .
Boreyko has a well-established body of work in the area of fluid mechanics , including the invention of a fog harp and the use of contained , recirculated steam as a cooling device . As his research has progressed throughout the past decade , the mechanics of duck de-wetting has been one of his longest-running projects .
“ I got this idea when I was at Duke University ,” said Boreyko . “ I had a really bad parking spot , but my walk took me right through the scenic Duke Gardens . I passed by ponds with lots of ducks , and I noticed that when a duck comes out of the water , they ’ d shake their feathers and water would fly off . I realized that what they were doing was a de-wetting transition , releasing water that was partially inside of their feathers . That was the germ of the idea . In my research , purely by coincidence , I was studying the same kind of thing . I realized