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Aircraft wings could be covered in a responsive surface that adapts to the airflow around it to reduce drag, slashing carbon dioxide emissions and potentially eliminating the need for flaps.

Aeronautics engineers at Imperial College, led by Dr Jonathan Morrison, are working with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) to develop a surface made up of small ‘dimples’ like those on a golf ball, capable of controlling the flow of air around the wings.

The dimples are made of electroactive polymer (EAP). When a charge is applied to the devices they pop down and up again, creating a vortex of air that injects energy into the boundary layer of slower moving air molecules around the wing that cause drag.

Morrison and his colleague Dr Beverley McKeon have developed dimples that can be set to pop up and down at fixed intervals, but their ultimate aim is to integrate pressure sensors into the all-polymer surface, to activate the dimples when needed to improve the airflow. Their work has attracted the attention of Airbus and BAE Systems, plus EPSRC funding.