Super wetsuit: warmer, more slippery, doesn't wet

[landshark sa]

Hi Sebastien,

Seeing as you mention ice / snow you probably have already considered this application, but I'll mention it anyway.

The Discovery TV show, Deadliest Catch, shows a feet of crap fisherman who operate in the Bering Sea. When crabbing during the winter months they have a constant battle with ice that forms on deck which in extreme cases causes the boat to become unstable. The crew has to manually remove the ice with sledge hammers and from the looks of it, it's quite a process.

I'm pretty sure that they and other ocean going craft that have the same issue with ice would jump at a solution where one could simply spray / paint the boat with your invention to minimize ice formation or aid in the removal of the ice.

 

[sebastien murat]

Yes, I'm aware of that problem. I read a book recently (Smilla's Sense for Snow) in which it was mentioned that when fog +comes along icing can get really bad really quickly....enough to affect sea-worthiness.

 

[Ziggy85]

Hi Sebastien,

Is there any news with this product? I respect that you need to keep some information private but I am curious about this.

 

[sebastien murat]

Hi,

No, can't say much, but I'd really like to!

Basically, the suit is configured to do this*, but of course there's more to it. Drag reduction is calculated to be about 85%. Realistically it will probably 75% if the air-layer is sustained. Considering that as much as 75% of the effort you allocate to swimming u/w is wasted overcoming drag, I think that's a substantial improvement on anything that's presently out there. Basically for the same effort, you'd be going twice about twice as fast/far. And, no I'm not pulling your leg.

*
http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfootage/Penguin?sid=4cce84b47c7e7a237ba31703ade061e8cf4209f9

 

[landshark sa]

Following this thread I thought this was your stuff: http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-equipment/97104-incredible-water-repellent-applications.html

 

[azapa]

Seb. The other way around: if a penguin wore an Orca Free or similar it would only go half as far for a given force? (other than looking quite cute).

Can't wait!

 

[sebastien murat]

Hmmm...
The plan is also not to look like a penguin!

 

[azapa]

Hmmm...
The plan is also not to look like a penguin!

I would be happy to if that resulted in double the glide When do you plan to unveil this? What are your next steps. I imagine some kind of patent application? Best of luck.

 

[Apneaddict]

This would disproportionally help the strong / fast swimmers! I'll take 2 pls.

 

[nostres]

So it looks like they beat You to it, available at Home Depot for $19.95


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DZrjXSsfxMQ]NeverWet Arrives - Hands-On Product Demonstration - YouTube[/ame]

Hi,

No, can't say much, but I'd really like to!

Basically, the suit is configured to do this*, but of course there's more to it. Drag reduction is calculated to be about 85%. Realistically it will probably 75% if the air-layer is sustained. Considering that as much as 75% of the effort you allocate to swimming u/w is wasted overcoming drag, I think that's a substantial improvement on anything that's presently out there. Basically for the same effort, you'd be going twice about twice as fast/far. And, no I'm not pulling your leg.

*
http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfootage/Penguin?sid=4cce84b47c7e7a237ba31703ade061e8cf4209f9

 

[sebastien murat]

Hi,

Know the stuff.

Things to consider:
-Things will stay dry and, if wetted, will easily become dry again, but only if the deepest sections of the asperities that create the superhydrophobic air-layer (plastron) aren't compromised, e.g., seaspray, driving rain, high humidity/condensation (e.g., mist, fog, overnight temperature drop, etc.)
- the substance wouldn't allow for application onto surfaces that are elastic and highly flexible, e.g., like your wetsuit!
- there's a world of difference between drag reduction and keeping things dry. In fact, you can have a substance that's perfectly hydrophobic and worsen drag above and beyond modifying the surface at all. This is because the curvature of micro/nanobubbles greatly increases the water-air interface surface-area, and results in an earlier transition to turbulent flow.
- the plastron is compressible, which means that water depth will result in the release of excess gas into the surrounding water as a result of compression (partial pressure difference thing), which means that the hydrophobic asperities that would otherwise help generate the plastron begin to perforate it as it thins out. This will worsening drag even more, to the point where you'd have a really rough and very high drag surface. So, unless your plastron is something of the order of 400-500 microns thick and you can keep it that thick, you'd get no benefit but will actually be worse off.


Anyway, you get the picture. I think it's good for things like shoes and mobiles, which is nonetheless a pretty big need.

 

[Kin]

Old thread but i was looking into hydrophobic wetsuits and found a common recipe with silicone caulk and mineral spirits. When painted on a lined wetsuit it is elastic, super hydrophobic and lasts very long. Actually it has all the properties mentioned by the OP with the only difference it's recipe is free.
An electron microscope image of the treated fibers show that fibers are completely covered with the coating. More interestingly, surface is also covered with uniformly distributed small particles.
Silicone sealant is a specially modified type of a silicone polymer which comes under the class of polydimethylsiloxanes. These polymers are known for their very low surface energy, which means that these surfaces are very difficult to wet. RTV silicone sealant also contain a material call hydrophobic fumed silica as a filler which plays another key part in this effect. These small particles, also have very low surface energy and they go and deposit on the surface of the fibers. These small particles create a micro level mountain like structures on the fiber surface. So when a water droplet falls on to the fibers, it would essentially be suspended on the tip of these mountains, maintaining an air gap between the water and the surface of the fiber.