Related papers: Cohesion-decohesion asymmetry in geckos
In this study, the adhesion-detachment behaviour of a gecko-inspired adhesive pad was investigated to understand the on/off switching mechanisms of adhesion in gecko feet. A macroscopic spatula model was fabricated using silicone rubber,…
We study the mechanics of a reversible decohesion (unzipping) of an elastic layer subjected to quasi-static end-point loading. At the micro level the system is simulated by an elastic chain of particles interacting with a rigid foundation…
The present work investigates the normal and tangential peeling behaviour of a gecko spatula using a coupled adhesion-friction model. The objective is to explain the strong attachment and easy detachment behaviour of the spatulae as well as…
Biological adhesion is a critical mechanical function of complex organisms operating at multiple scales. At the cellular scale, cell-cell adhesion is remarkably tunable to enable both cohesion and malleability during development,…
The exceptional adhesion properties of biological fibrillar structures -- such as those found in geckos -- have inspired the development of synthetic adhesive surfaces. Among these, mushroom-shaped fibrils have demonstrated superior…
Aggregation is a common behavior by which groups of organisms arrange into cohesive groups. Whether suspended in the air (like honey bee clusters), built on the ground (such as army ant bridges), or immersed in water (such as sludge worm…
The adhesive behaviour of biological attachment structures such as spider web anchorages is usually studied using single or multiple peeling models involving "tapes", i.e. one-dimensional contacts elements. This is an oversimplification for…
Cohesive zone models do not consider the lateral contraction of adhesive layers under tensile loads. The constraint of the lateral contraction by the adherents which depends on the geometry of the adhesive layer has a major influence on the…
Mushroom-shaped pillars have been extensively studied for their superior adhesive properties, often drawing inspiration from natural attachment systems observed in insects. Typically, pillars are modeled with linear elastic materials in the…
A self-consistent model is developed to investigate attachment / detachment kinetics of two soft, deformable microspheres with irregular surface and coated with flexible binding ligands. The model highlights how the microscale binding…
The adhesion between dry solid surfaces is typically governed by contact forces, involving surface forces and elasticity. For surfaces immersed in a fluid, out-of-contact adhesion arises due to the viscous resistance to the opening of the…
Natural active systems routinely reshape and reorganize their environments through sustained local interactions. Examples of decentralized collective construction are common in nature, e.g., many insects achieve large-scale constructions…
In recent years it has become evident the need of understanding how failure of coordination imposes constraints on the size of stable groups that highly social mammals can live in. We examine here the forces that keep animals together as a…
Intermolecular forces are known to precipitate adhesion events between solid bodies. Inspired by a macro-scale experiment showing the hysteretic adhesion of a piece of flexible tape over a plastic substrate, we develop here a model of…
Engineering technologies frequently draw inspiration from nature, as exemplified in bio-inspired adhesive surfaces. These surfaces present textures adorned by pillars, mimicking the topography found on the pads of certain animals renowned…
Liquids play an important role in adhesion and sliding friction. They behave as lubricants in human bodies especially in the joints. However, in many biological attachment systems they acts like adhesives, e.g. facilitating insects to move…
We address the folding induced by differential growth in soft layered solids via an elementary model that consists of a soft growing neo-Hookean elastic layer adhered to a deep elastic substrate. As the layer/substrate modulus ratio is…
A model system has been recently developed to study adhesion. It consists of a giant lipid bilayer vesicle with reconstituted lipo-polymers (repellers) as well as with lipo-ligands recognized by receptors covering the substrate. Adhesion in…
To go beyond the simple model for the fold as two flexible surfaces or faces linked by a crease that behaves as an elastic hinge, we carefully shape and anneal a crease within a polymer sheet and study its mechanical response. First, we…
Hooke's law states that the forces or stresses experienced by an elastic object are proportional to the applied deformations or strains. The number of coefficients of proportionality between stress and strain, i.e., the elastic moduli, is…