title: Adhesion design maps for bio-inspired attachment systems.
abstract: Fibrous surface structures can improve the adhesion of objects to other surfaces. Animals, such as flies and geckos, take advantage of this principle by developing "hairy" contact structures which ensure controlled and repeatable adhesion and detachment. Mathematical models for fiber adhesion predict pronounced dependencies of contact performance on the geometry and the elastic properties of the fibers. In this paper the limits of such contacts imposed by fiber strength, fiber condensation, compliance, and ideal contact strength are modeled for spherical contact tips. Based on this, we introduce the concept of "adhesion design maps" which visualize the predicted mechanical behavior. The maps are useful for understanding biological systems and for guiding experimentation to achieve optimum artificial contacts.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck-Institute for Metals Research, Heisenbergstr. 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany. spolenak@mf.mpg.de
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spolenak
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gorb
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arzt
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004548:Elasticity; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008954:Models, Biological; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013112:Spiders / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials