Articulation of angled semicircular microfibers for a gecko-inspired anisotropic adhesive

Author

Chary, S. ; Tamelier, J. ; Turner, K.L.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. Eng., Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

20-24 Jan. 2013

Firstpage

401

Lastpage

404

Abstract

A highly reusable synthetic gecko-inspired adhesive has been developed using angled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) semicircular microscale fiber arrays, retaining up to 77% of the initial adhesion force over 10,000 repeated test cycles against a flat glass puck without exhibiting fiber wear. The dynamic adhesion and shear force measurements demonstrate the importance of specific shearing articulation to effectively switch the adhesion obtained from a maximum of 9.4 kPa for attachment to a minimum of zero for easy detachment. A maximum shear force of 85 kPa was also obtained, approaching the 88-226 kPa range reported for gecko feet and digits.

Keywords

adhesion; adhesives; anisotropic media; polymer fibres; shear strength; wear; PDMS semicircular microscale fiber arrays; angled semicircular microfiber articulation; dynamic adhesion; fiber wear; flat glass puck; gecko digits; gecko feet; polydimethylsiloxane semicircular microscale fiber arrays; pressure 85 kPa; pressure 88 kPa to 226 kPa; pressure 9.4 kPa; shear force measurements; shearing articulation; synthetic gecko-inspired anisotropic adhesive; Adhesives; Dynamics; Face; Force; Friction; Manganese; Optical fiber testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on

Conference_Location

Taipei

ISSN

1084-6999

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-5654-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.2013.6474263

Filename

6474263