ESBL grad students Julia May and Alex Balog worked on the Basking Filter project as an extension of their Biomimicry and Parametric Design course taught by Nancy Cheng, Chair of the Architecture Department at UO. With interests in engineering, industrial processes, and filtration, they began to research various filter feeders to see if nature’s wisdom could help inspire a self-cleaning filter. After learning about the Basking Shark and its amazing adaptations, Julia and Alex came to the ESBL to discuss using the wind tunnel to run experiments. Guided by research done at William and Mary, Alex and Julia tested some simple geometries to see if they could create eddies to aid in a self-cleaning process. Last week they submitted their re-design of water treatment plants to a Biomimicry Design Challenge. The treatment plant uses the properties of the filter (mixing and separation) to speed up critical processes, while performing the self-cleaning function.
