A review of drag reduction technology inspired from biomimetic surfaces and functions

In recent years, shipping-related CO₂ emissions have accounted for 3% of overall CO₂ emissions, and the corresponding direct economic losses have reached tens of billions of dollars. Reducing resistance during motion, as one of the effective countermeasures for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced by marine vehicles, has been widely studied by scholars. After billions of years of natural selection, various organisms, especially aquatic animals and plants, have evolved functional surfaces. Because the skin or surface of some aquatic organisms has low resistance or no adhesion, they can swim quickly in water and consume less energy. Since the last century, extensive studies have been conducted on animals and plants such as sharks, dolphins, and lotus leaves. This paper reviews the research progress on bionic drag reduction technologies inspired by typical animals and plants, including drag reduction by imitating shark skin, dolphin surfaces, jet function, lotus leaf surfaces, and mucus. We hope this review will be helpful for comprehensively understanding the research status of bionic drag reduction technology and developing more efficient drag reduction methods, which are highly important for saving energy and building marine environments.