Related papers: Crawling on directional surfaces
In some physical and biological swarms, agents effectively move and interact along curved surfaces. The associated constraints and symmetries can affect collective-motion patterns, but little is known about pattern stability in the presence…
We report on the frictional behaviour of thin poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) hydrogels films grafted on glass substrates in sliding contact with a glass spherical probe. Friction experiments are carried out at various velocities and…
We study the sliding friction for viscoelastic solids, e.g., rubber, on hard flat substrate surfaces. We consider first the fluctuating shear stress inside a viscoelastic solid which results from the thermal motion of the atoms or molecules…
This paper presents a derivation of a dynamic simulation of a steerable-wheel mobile robot with wheel slip. The robot is controlled using pure pursuit algorithm. Kalker simplified and linear theory of rolling contact are utilized to…
A quantitative model of the mobility of functionalized particles at the interface is pivotal to understanding important systems in biology and nanotechnology. In this work, we investigate the emerging dynamics of particles anchored through…
Our understanding of the neural basis of locomotor behavior can be informed by careful quantification of animal movement. Classical descriptions of legged locomotion have defined discrete locomotor gaits, characterized by distinct patterns…
The interplay between Coulomb friction and random excitations is studied experimentally by means of a rotating probe in contact with a stationary granular gas. The granular material is independently fluidized by a vertical shaker, acting as…
The early planetesimal growth proceeds through a sequence of sticking collisions of dust agglomerates. Very uncertain is still the relative velocity regime in which growth rather than destruction can take place. The outcome of a collision…
The goal of this PhD thesis was to characterize the properties of friction in nanotubes and from a more general point of view the understanding of the microscopic origin of friction. Indeed, the relative simplicity of the system allows us…
We present a reinforcement learning framework for quadrupedal wall-climbing locomotion that explicitly addresses uncertainty in magnetic foot adhesion. A physics-based adhesion model of a quadrupedal magnetic climbing robot is incorporated…
Soft materials have many important roles in animal locomotion and object manipulation. In robotic applications soft materials can store and release energy, absorb impacts, increase compliance and increase the range of possible shape…
We compare numerical and experimental results exploring the behaviour of liquid drops moving across a surface patterned with hydrophobic and hydrophilic stripes. A lattice Boltzmann algorithm is used to solve the hydrodynamic equations of…
The presence of interfaces and grain boundaries significantly impacts the mechanical properties of materials, particularly when dealing with micro- or nano-scale samples. Distinct interactions between dislocations and grain boundaries can…
Bacterial conglomerates such as biofilms and microcolonies are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in industry and medicine. In contrast to well-mixed, diluted cultures routinely used in microbial research, bacteria in a…
The initiation of directional cell motion requires symmetry breaking that can happen both with or without external stimuli. During cell crawling, forces generated by the cytoskeleton and their transmission through mechanosensitive adhesions…
Organisms often swim through fluids that are spatially inhomogeneous. If the fluids are polymeric, gradients in polymer concentration may lead to gradients in both fluid viscosity and elasticity. In this letter, we present theoretical…
We study the lubricated contact of sliding soft surfaces that are locally patterned but globally cylindrical, held together under an external normal force. The local patterns represent either naturally occurring surface roughness or…
We investigate the motion of groups of intruders in a two-dimensional granular system by using discrete numerical simulations. By imposing either a constant velocity or a thrusting force on larger disks (intruders) that move within smaller…
We analyze the frictionless motion of a point-like particle that slides under gravity on an inverted conical surface. This motion is studied for arbitrary initial conditions and a general relation, valid within 13%, between the periods of…
Understanding the interplay between concurrent length scales is a fundamental issue in many problems involving friction between sliding interfaces, from tribology to the study of earthquakes and seismic faults. On the one hand, a…