The Parker Hanpin company designed an abrasion-resistant tube based on the structure of the hexagonal bumps on the snake skin
By: Yael Halfman Cohen
Parker Hennepin (Parker Hannifin), the leading manufacturer of control and motion systems and technologies, including hydraulic and pneumatic equipment, adopted the biomimetic approach to solving a challenge of one of its clients, an Italian cement factory.
The factory is forced to close its operations every two weeks in order to repair or replace the steel pipes located at the exit of the factory, pipes that carry particularly abrasive materials. The plant needed a tube that was strong from steel but still flexible like a rubber tube.
Instead of looking for a solution "at home" or in industry, the Parker Hanpin company decided to innovate and this time look for a solution in nature. The company team asked "What in nature is flexible but still covered in armor for protection?", and identified three structures that meet the requirements among caterpillars, fish, and snakes. The best example is the snake skin which includes a series of interlocking scales that allow movement on the one hand and permanent protection against erosion from the soil on the other hand.
Parker's design team developed an innovative tube coated with a series of ceramic exagrams (6-pointed star shape) that mimic the basic structure of snake scales. This pipe known as Cergom was designed to meet the requirements of a flexible and strong structure, resistant to abrasion in a better way compared to steel. A prototype of the new pipe was placed in place of the steel pipe that wore out once every two weeks. This prototype continued to function for another 6 years without any external signs of wear!
The company's vice president for technology and innovation, Petar Boka, concluded by saying: "You don't want to invest in technologies that you will have to abandon in the future.... Nature offers a practical and sustainable solution, a very important value for an industrial company."
