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Measuring Shear‐ I nduced Adhesion of Gecko‐ I nspired Fibrillar Arrays Using Scanning Probe Techniques
Author(s) -
Li Yasong,
Zhang Cheng,
Zhou James H.W.,
Me Carlo,
Gates Byron D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
macromolecular reaction engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1862-8338
pISSN - 1862-832X
DOI - 10.1002/mren.201300113
Subject(s) - adhesive , adhesion , gecko , contact angle , materials science , climb , nanotechnology , composite material , micrometer , wetting , contact area , shear (geology) , shear force , mechanical engineering , engineering , geology , layer (electronics) , aerospace engineering , paleontology
The natural ability of geckos and spiders to climb almost all surfaces using the compliant, nano‐structured components on their feet provides motivation for making bio‐inspired adhesives. The goal of the studies in this paper is to create an analytical technique for improving the ability to characterize dry adhesives modeled after these biological systems. The technique described herein uses a scanning probe microscope to manipulate a flat test surface in contact with biomimetic fibrillar arrays while monitoring the adhesion forces. Adhesion forces were measured after both normal contact and shear‐induced contact between the nano‐structured fibrils and the test surface. Results confirm that the adhesion forces are higher for bio‐inspired adhesives after a shear‐induced contact. Variations in these forces can be measured across the sample with micrometer‐scale lateral resolution. This method of analysis can be extended to evaluate bio‐inspired dry adhesives with realistic mechanisms of attachment utilized in robotic and similar applications of these materials.