Biomimetic Engineering for Fluid Manipulation and Flow Control

Dear Colleagues,

Over billions of years of evolutionary refinement, biological systems have evolved remarkably ingenious strategies to manipulate fluids, bubbles, and droplets, leveraging these capabilities to support core life processes such as locomotion, predation, sensing, and energy conversion. By emulating biological microstructures, surface properties, and dynamic mechanisms, biomimetic engineering for fluid manipulation and flow control aims to deliver transformative solutions for state-of-the-art engineering applications.

This Special Issue, “Biomimetic Engineering for Fluid Manipulation and Flow Control”, is dedicated to advancing the interdisciplinary dialogue around biomimetic innovation in fluid systems. It seeks to compile the latest breakthroughs and insights in this dynamic domain—encompassing topics ranging from macroscopic flow management (e.g., aerodynamic/ hydrodynamic optimization for vehicles) to the precise manipulation of microscopic droplets (e.g., in lab-on-a-chip devices). Its scope covers fundamental research (including physics of bio-inspired fluid behavior, materials and micro/nanostructure design) as well as applied studies (such as numerical and experimental fluid mechanics, and the translation of these insights into practical engineering solutions). Key areas of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Flow drag reduction;
• Aeroacoustic noise reduction;
• Functional bionics and trans-medium vehicles;
• Droplet physics (e.g., nucleation, coalescence, and controlled movement);
• Bio-inspired micro/nano structures for fluid regulation;
• Interfacial science in biomimetic fluid systems;
• Directed transport of fluids/droplets/bubbles;
• Microfluidics with biomimetic design principles;
• Anti-icing/anti-fogging technologies;
• Droplet-based energy harvesting;
• Colloid and interface chemistry for biomimetic fluid manipulation;
• Heat and mass transfer enhanced by bio-inspired flow control;
• Flow erosion and cavitation mitigation;
• Bubble/cavitation control.

We warmly invite scholars worldwide to contribute their latest original research and review articles—whether theoretical explorations, experimental validations, or engineering application cases—and to join us in exploring the vast potential of biomimetic engineering in fluid manipulation and flow control. By drawing deep insights from nature, we aim to collectively develop innovative solutions that will shape the future of engineering across diverse fields, including aerospace, marine technology, microfabrication, and renewable energy.

Prof. Dr. Chengchun Zhang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.