The effect of flexible joint-like elements on the adhesive performance of nature-inspired bent mushroom-like fibers

• Elliot Geikowsky,
• Serdar Gorumlu and
• Burak Aksak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2893–2905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.268

• : bent fibers; bioinspired dry adhesives; gecko adhesion; joint-like element; mushroom-like fibers; Introduction Most natural organisms that rely on temporary adhesion to surfaces for survival do so using tiny, densely packed fibers [1][2]. These fibers vary in dimension and material properties

• dependence of adhesion and friction. Results and Discussion Bent fibers with joint-like elements Fibers of 20 µm diameter and 85 µm length were used to produce the bent fibers. They were evenly distributed in a 2.8 × 2.8 mm acrylic peg with a center-to-center distance of 60 µm, resulting in a peg with

• direction, Figure 10d top), or opposite to tilt (i.e., releasing direction, Figure 10d bottom). After dragging the sample for 500 μm at 10 μm/s, the sample is retracted from the glass substrate. Forces in shear and normal directions are recorded as a function of time. Fabrication of bent fibers Although a