The document discusses biomimicry in civil engineering, emphasizing its potential to innovate sustainable solutions by emulating nature's designs and processes. It presents various applications, such as the self-sufficient 'lilypad' floating city, self-cleaning paints inspired by lotus leaves, and cement modeled after coral reefs. The importance of biomimicry lies in its ability to create energy-efficient structures that resonate with ecological principles and contribute positively to the environment.

1. BIOMIMICRY AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING
PRESENTED BY:AJEENA BABY
STUDENT
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPT
GUIDED BY: Mrs. NISAANN MATHEW
ASST. PROFESSOR
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPT.
Dept. of Civil Engineering , VJCET, Vazhakulam

2. INTRODUCTION
BIOMIMICRY
• Interdisciplinary field where technology, science, art, design and architecture influence eac
h other & use biology for innovative solutions and products .
• Approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating
nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.
• Goal-create products, processes, and policies new ways of living well-adapted to life on ea
rth over long haul
• Organisms alive today are the successful models or products of evolution. We could learn
a lot from nature when it comes to solving our challenges in A sustainable way
• nature's adaptations result in the conservation of energy and reduction of waste, which are
of immeasurable interest to engineers and manufacturers
Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering
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Dept. of Civil Engineering , VJCET, Vazhakulam

3. LEVELS OF BIOMIMICRY
The natural form of organisms are used for inspiration
Natural process can be mimicked
Ecosystem level
1
2
3
For instance, mimicking the structure of a seashell co
uld lead to stronger buildings
For example chemical processes such as photosynthesis, can
be mimicked to create more sustainable materials.
In this level, entire ecosystems and their functional pr
inciples are mimicked. When a product is made with
the help of biomimicry, it is called a 'biomimetic' pro
duct. It can be biomimetic in terms of form, material,
construction, process or function.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

4. CONTENTS
Introduction Looping water slideLilypad floating
city
Cement having
composition of corals
Conclusion
Self cleaning paintPassive cooling More examples
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

5. LILYPAD FLOATING CITY
Inspired from –water lily
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

6. • With global sea levels predicted to rise significantly over the next ce
ntury due to climate change, a lot of people living in low lying areas
are expected to be displaced from their homes.
• Architect Vincent Callebaut- “Lilypad” concept ,reality by 2100.
• A completely self-sufficient floating city that would accommodate
upto 50,000.
• Three marinas and three mountains would surround a centrally locate
d artificial lagoon that is totally immersed below the water line to act
as ballast for the city.
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Dept. of Civil Engineering , VJCET, Vazhakulam
Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

7. • Three mountains & marinas would be dedicated to work, shopping
and entertainment, respectively, while suspended gardens and aquacu
lture farms located below the water line would be used to grow food
and biomass.
• The floating city would also include full complement of renewable
energy technologies, including solar, thermal, wind,tidal,and biomass
to produce more energy than it consumes.
• The Lilypads could be located close to land or set free to follow the o
cean currents wherever they may lead.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

8. • Disadvantage –not affordable for all
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

9. Dept. of Civil Engineering , VJCET, Vazhakulam
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

11. LOOPING WATER SLIDE
• Inspired from –scorpion tail
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Dept. of Civil Engineering , VJCET, Vazhakulam
Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

12. TAIL OF SCORPION
• Most famous and intimidating scorpion feature?
• That venomous stinger-tipped tail, of course.
• Scorpion tails vary quite a bit in size and shape,
• Swung with differing techniques, speeds and degrees of precision
• A scorpion's "tail" is not a separate appendage like most animal tails
• It's the last five segments of the body ( metastoma), tipped off by a st
inging structure called a telson.
• The venom packed inside has deadly toxins for its prey
• but it also contains ingredients that are dangerous or even deadly to la
rger animals that might be looking for a scorpion snack.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

13. WATER LOOP
• A trapdoor drops rider down.
• An operator open it when sensors report sufficient water flow and that the previous r
ider has finished.
• 55-foot chute descends 70-degree slope to help rider build up enough speed—about
30 mph to ascend the loop
• Optical sensors track a rider as he enters the slide
• 9-14 sec later rider splashes out into a slow-down lane of deeper water.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

14. • The 27-foot-high loop is angled 60 degrees,not a totally vertical 90, so you'll never
drop off the ceiling and crash into the floor.
• Fast riders travel high on the outside wall, nearly facing downward.
• Slower riders naturally drift down the wall to glide face-up on the tube's floor.
• Sprayers create a slicker, faster surface than is possible by pouring water down the
slide.
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17. CEMENT HAVING COMPOSITION OF CORALS
• Inspired from-coral reef
• Invented by-Brent constanz,Biomineralisation expert,Stanford university
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

18. CORAL FORMATION
• Sea water has calcium , CO2 gas dissolves into seawater
• Natural interaction between CO2 produces CO3 (limestone)
• Higher the concentration of CO2, the more carbonate is formed.
• That’s how corals form their shells..
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

19. CONSTANTZ PROCESS
• Installation takes waste CO2 gas from local power plant.
• Dissolves it into seawater .
• Reaction of calcium with CO2 produces CO3.
• The solids that form fall to the bottom and are separated.
• They’re dried out using the waste heat from the hot flue gas.
• produces a powder in a spray dryer, which is akin to a machine making powdered m
ilk that’s cement.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

20. USES
• to make aggregate
• synthetic rock like synth
etic limestone
• it can be kept dry as a c
ement and used in a co
ncrete formulation
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

21. PASSIVE COOLING-TERMITE INSPIRED
Inspired from –termite mount
Invented by-Engineers from firm Arup, led by Mick Pearce
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22. TERMITE MOUND
• Termites build gigantic mounds inside they farm fungus.
• fungus must be kept at exactly 87 degrees F, while the temperatures ou
tside range from 35 degrees F at night to 104 degrees F.
• Achieved this by constantly opening and closing a series of heating an
d cooling vents throughout the mound over the course of the day.
• With a system of adjusted convection currents, air is sucked in at the lo
wer part of the mound, down into enclosures with muddy walls, and u
p through a channel to the peak of the termite mound.
• They constantly dig new vents and plug up old ones to regulate temper
ature.
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23. EASTGATE CENTRE
• Eastgate Centre, largely made of concrete, has a ventilation system wh
ich operates in a similar way.
• Outside air that is drawn in is either warmed or cooled by the building
mass depending on which is hotter,the building concrete or the air.
• It is then vented into the building’s floors and offices.
• before exiting via chimneys at the top.
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24. ADVANTAGE
• The Eastgate Centre uses less than
10% of the energy of a conventional
building its size.
• saved $3.5 million alone because of
an airconditioning system not have to
be implemented.
• trickle down rents 20 % lower than
in surrounding buildings.
• Sound climate control solution
• most cost effective
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25. SELF CLEANING PAINTS
Inspired from-lotus leaf
Invented by-Professor Wilhem Barthlott, from the University of Bonn in Germany
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26. LOTUS LEAF
• lotus leaves-distinctive surface built up in 2 levels
• tiny bumps seen in microscopic scale
• second level by thin nano-metric wires.
• waxy layer covering increases the hydrophobic effect.
• double structure underpin water dropplets maintain their spherical
shape
• waxy layer favours the rolling of droplets without wetting the leaf surf
ace
• combination of physical and chemical effects
• superhydrophobic
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

27. SELF CLEANING PAINT
• paint creates microstructures on facade of buildings
• water form droplets with spherical shapes on building surfaces
• Water bead off
• taking dirt and bacteria along with it
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

28. ADVANTAGES
• More cleaner
• reduces build-up of alg
ae and mold.
• low maintenance cost
• repainted less frequent
ly.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

30. CONCLUSION
IMPORTANCE OF BIOMIMICRY
.
1. Nourish curiosity
Biomimicry provides the opportunity
to learn about life’s water, energy and
material-use strategies. This perspecti
ve broadens the design space to bring
new solutions to the table.
2. Go beyond form
Biomimicry looks beyond form and t
eases out life’s inherent sustainability
strategies, creating structures that fit f
orm to function, use materials efficie
ntly and adapt well to their environm
ent.
3. Give permission to play
Biomimicry Design as a framework,
looking to Life’s Principles and brin
ging ecologists and biomimics to th
e table, design teams can bring new
perspectives to their projects
4. Disrupt traditional thinking
Start by asking, “How would nature
solve this challenge?” . This framin
g gives project teams an opportunity
to explore new solutions and brainst
orm opportunities to solve challenge
s in new and innovative ways.
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31. 5 .Accomplish Multiple Needs with One Simple Gesture.
In nature, there are no single-purpose tools. Imagine building surfaces
and systems that could accomplish multiple functions with one simpl
e, multi-functional design
6 .Are Well-Adapted to their Context and Climate.
Rather than fighting against the climate using energy and resources to hold nature at
bay, our projects can leverage cyclic processes such as the change of seasons and buil
d with readily available materials and energy.
7.Emulating and Enhancing Ecosystem Services.
By constructing buildings, streets, and parks to perform the same services a natural ecosyste
m does: stormwater harvest, flooding mitigation, habitat creation, energy production, and ca
rbon sequestration, we can create a built environment that “fits in” again and contributes to t
he ecosystems we inhabit, truly emulating the genius of our place.
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Biomimicry and its applications in Civil Engineering

32. 8.Leveraging Collaborative Synergies.
Rethinking our buildings as nested systems, both made up of smaller systems and
a part of multiple larger ones, allows us to cultivate collaborative relationships th
at save resources, energy, and cost for the project and the community at large
9.Embodying Systemic Resilience.
Life on Earth is the epitome of resilience; adapting and changing itself to fit its context fo
r billions of years. By looking to how nature confers resilience on its systems, incorporati
ng diversity and embodying resilience through variation, redundancy, and decentralizatio
n, we can create human- built systems that are inherently resilient to disturbances, even
the unexpected.
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33. You The more our world functions like the natural
world,the more likely we are to endure on this home that
is ours ,but not ours alone
-Janine M Benyus
“ “
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34. THANK YOU
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