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New research from the University of Rochester describes an innovative superhydrophobic (SH) metal array that is effectively unsinkable. The
metal array [...] won't sink, even after it's pierced.
"Regardless how much it's damaged or punctured, it will still be able to stay afloat," Chunlei Guo, the study's chief researcher, told Business Insider.
Video here
There are many applications, such as unsinkable ships and floating cities (a viable alternative to a hollowed out volcano), that are promised by superhydrophobic materials, but in practice these materials start losing their effectiveness over time once submerged or abraided.
we circumvent these two most-challenging obstacles and demonstrate a highly floating multi-faced SH metallic assembly inspired by the diving bell spiders and fire ant assemblies. We study and optimize, both theoretically and experimentally, the floating properties of the design. The assembly shows an unprecedented floating ability; it can float back to surface even after being forced submerging under water for months. More strikingly, the assembly maintains its floating ability even after severe damage and piercing in stark contrast to conventional watercrafts and aquatic devices. The potential use of the SH floating metallic assembly ranges from floating devices and electronic equipment protection, to highly floatable ships and vessels.
The research has been accepted for publication in Applied Materials and Interfaces.
Ed Note - This is a duplicate of https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/11/07/0836248. My apologies for not catching that and thanks to FatPhil for bringing it to our attention. - Fnord666]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 17 2019, @06:47PM (4 children)
All this means is that the metal has a net density (after trapped / hydrophobically attached air is included) lower than water.
One can hope it is structurally stronger, and less prone to corrosion / fracture than styrofoam.
There were a few houseboats in Miami that were floated on styrofoam pontoons - that ended badly when fish would come along and nip off the barnacles that grew on the pontoons, taking away a little piece of styrofoam with each bite...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Username on Sunday November 17 2019, @07:17PM (1 child)
I watched the video, it's a pattern etched onto the sides of the sheetmetal with a laser. Looks to me like a single use type deal. Maybe useful for torpedo casing.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 17 2019, @08:12PM
The interesting part here is: if the buoyancy is obtained from compressible gas "attached" to the outside of the metal layer, that buoyancy is going to diminish with depth, down to ~50% @ 30', ~33% @ 60' etc. It's not actually a great profile for depth control, SCUBA divers need to actively control buoyancy vests to achieve neutral buoyancy at depth, but not pop like a cork out of the water on ascent.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 17 2019, @07:18PM
Not just the strength, but, what is the load bearing capacity? As in, how much of this stuff will it take to carry a ferry load of cars and people? Can't forget how it affects ship handling. We've got a ferry loaded with 12 cars, a couple delivery trucks, and 200 passengers. Does it sit in the water, or on the water? If it sits down in the water 6 feet or more, we can "sail" this craft much like a conventional boat or ship. If it's sitting on the water, then it is at the mercy of any gust of wind that comes along, and we need to build it more like an aircraft than a water craft.
Bouyancy is a good thing, up to a point.
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday November 17 2019, @07:41PM
The question is if the metal lattice will be structurally stronger than styrofoam filled boats which last more or less forever already. We have the floaty part down already - There are plenty of boats that have foam filled hulls and are essentially unsinkable, the most famous is probably the Boston Whaler. There are Various youtube vids of these being cut in half right on the water [youtube.com] and both sides floating away happy and dry.
A kind of wafer structure like they are showing should certainly beat styrofoam in tension I would think. Not sure how well it will compare against compression or twisting.
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