Aerodynamics-assisted, efficient and scalable kirigami fog collectors

Jing Li, Ranjiangshang Ran, Haihuan Wang, Yuchen Wang, You Chen, Shichao Niu, Paulo E. Arratia and Shu Yang ()
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Jing Li: University of Pennsylvania
Ranjiangshang Ran: University of Pennsylvania
Haihuan Wang: University of Pennsylvania
Yuchen Wang: University of Pennsylvania
You Chen: Jilin University
Shichao Niu: Jilin University
Paulo E. Arratia: University of Pennsylvania
Shu Yang: University of Pennsylvania

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract To address the global water shortage crisis, one of the promising solutions is to collect freshwater from the environmental resources such as fog. However, the efficiency of conventional fog collectors remains low due to the viscous drag of fog-laden wind deflected around the collecting surface. Here, we show that the three-dimensional and centimetric kirigami structures can control the wind flow, forming quasi-stable counter-rotating vortices. The vortices regulate the trajectories of incoming fog clusters and eject extensive droplets to the substrate. As the characteristic structural length is increased to the size of vortices, we greatly reduce the dependence of fog collection on the structural delicacy. Together with gravity-directed gathering by the folds, the kirigami fog collector yields a collection efficiency of 16.1% at a low wind speed of 0.8 m/s and is robust against surface characteristics. The collection efficiency is maintained even on a 1 m2 collector in an outdoor setting.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25764-4

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