Tuning elastomer friction by hexagonal surface patterning

Frictional behavior of hexagonal elastomeric surface texture mimicking the pattern evolved in attachment pads of bush crickets has been investigated as a function of aspect ratio and area density of the texture elements. We show that this texture not only stabilizes the sliding behavior of elastomer surface, but also allows tuning its friction force from as low as 50% to nearly 100% of that of unmodified surface by adjusting the aspect ratio of the texture elements. Changing the texture area density does not affect the friction force, which allows choosing this parameter independently to support different normal loads. Both effects are explained using an in situscanning electron microscopy of steady-sliding surfaces.

[1]  E. Rabinowicz.  The Intrinsic Variables affecting the Stick-Slip Process , 1958 .

[2]  Chung-Yuen Hui,et al.  Numerical study of shearing of a microfibre during friction testing of a microfibre array , 2011, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[3]  Alfred J. Crosby,et al.  Why should we care about buckling , 2010 .

[4]  B. Amsden.  Curable, biodegradable elastomers: emerging biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering. , 2007, Soft matter.

[5]  A. Schallamach.  How Does Rubber Slide , 1971 .

[6]  Eduard Arzt,et al.  Adhesion of bioinspired micropatterned surfaces: effects of pillar radius, aspect ratio, and preload. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[7]  A. Jagota,et al.  Design of biomimetic fibrillar interfaces: 2. Mechanics of enhanced adhesion , 2004, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[8]  W. Barnes,et al.  Adhesion and Detachment of the Toe Pads of Tree Frogs , 1991 .

[9]  S. Gorb,et al.  Hexagonal Surface Micropattern for Dry and Wet Friction , 2009 .

[10]  S. Gorb,et al.  Ultrastructural architecture and mechanical properties of attachment pads in Tettigonia viridissima (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae) , 2000, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[11]  M. Varenberg,et al.  Tribometer for In Situ Scanning Electron Microscopy of Microstructured Contacts , 2011 .

[12]  S. Gorb,et al.  Shearing of fibrillar adhesive microstructure: friction and shear-related changes in pull-off force , 2007, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[13]  W. Barnes,et al.  Wet but not slippery: boundary friction in tree frog adhesive toe pads , 2006, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[14]  A. Crosby,et al.  Friction of soft elastomeric wrinkled surfaces , 2009 .

[15]  Stanislav N. Gorb,et al.  Advanced testing of adhesion and friction with a microtribometer , 2006 .

[16]  Annemarie Ohler,et al.  Digital Pad Morphology in Torrent-living Ranid Frogs , 1995 .

[17]  Karl Popp,et al.  Vibration Control to Avoid Stick-Slip Motion , 2004 .

[18]  B. Persson.  On the theory of rubber friction , 1998 .

[19]  Kevin T. Turner,et al.  Friction laws at the nanoscale , 2009, Nature.

[20]  D Hatch,et al.  The Static Coefficient of Friction and the Area of Contact , 1950 .