Journal article
Mechanisms of self-cleaning in fluid-based smooth adhesive pads of insects
Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, Vol.7(4)
2012
Abstract
Pressure-sensitive adhesives such as tapes become easily contaminated by dust particles. By contrast, animal adhesive pads are able to self-clean and can be reused millions of times over a lifetime with little reduction in adhesion. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying this ability are still unclear. Here we test in adhesive pads of stick insects (Carausius morosus) (1) whether self-cleaning is enhanced by the liquid pad secretion, and (2) whether alternating push-pull movements aid the removal of particles. We measured attachment forces of insect pads on glass after contamination with 10m polystyrene beads. While the amount of fluid present on the pad showed no effect on the pads' susceptibility to contamination, the recovery of adhesive forces after contamination was faster when higher fluid levels were present. However, this effect does not appear to be based on a faster rate of self-cleaning since the number of spheres deposited with each step did not increase with fluid level. Instead, the fluid may aid the recovery of adhesive forces by filling in the gaps between contaminating particles, similar to the fluid's function on rough surfaces. Further, we found no evidence that an alternation of pushing and pulling movements, as found in natural steps, leads to a more efficient recovery of adhesion than repeated pulling slides. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Details
- Title
- Mechanisms of self-cleaning in fluid-based smooth adhesive pads of insects
- Authors
- Christofer J Clemente (Author) - Harvard University, United StatesW Federle (Author) - University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Publication details
- Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, Vol.7(4)
- Publisher
- Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.1088/1748-3182/7/4/046001
- ISSN
- 1748-3182
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449129302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
541 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Engineering, Multidisciplinary
- Materials Science, Biomaterials
- Robotics
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites