IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/gcmbxx/v16y2013i6p577-591.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A detailed 3D finite element analysis of the peeling behaviour of a gecko spatula

Author

Listed:
  • Roger A. Sauer
  • Matthias Holl

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed finite element analysis of the adhesion of a gecko spatula. The gecko spatulae form the tips of the gecko foot hairs that transfer the adhesional and frictional forces between substrate and foot. The analysis is based on a parameterised description of the 3D geometry of the spatula that only requires 12 parameters. The adhesion is described by a nonlinear computational contact formulation that accounts for the van der Waals interaction between spatula and substrate. The spatula adhesion model is implemented using an enriched contact finite element formulation recently developed by the first author. The finite element model is then used to simulate the peeling behaviour of the gecko spatula under applied vertical and rotational loading for various model parameters. Variations of the material stiffness, adhesional strength and range, stiction, spatula size and spatula inclination are considered to account for the natural variation of spatula properties. The study demonstrates that the spatula can function over a wide range of conditions. The computed pull-off forces are in agreement with experimental results reported in the literature. The study also examines the energy required for the spatula pull-off. The proposed model is ideal to study the influence of substrate roughness on the spatula adhesion, as is finally demonstrated.

Suggested Citation

  • Roger A. Sauer & Matthias Holl, 2013. "A detailed 3D finite element analysis of the peeling behaviour of a gecko spatula," Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(6), pages 577-591, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:gcmbxx:v:16:y:2013:i:6:p:577-591
    DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2011.628944
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10255842.2011.628944
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/10255842.2011.628944?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kellar Autumn & Yiching A. Liang & S. Tonia Hsieh & Wolfgang Zesch & Wai Pang Chan & Thomas W. Kenny & Ronald Fearing & Robert J. Full, 2000. "Adhesive force of a single gecko foot-hair," Nature, Nature, vol. 405(6787), pages 681-685, June.
    2. Roger A. Sauer, 2009. "Multiscale modelling and simulation of the deformation and adhesion of a single gecko seta," Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 627-640.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hongmiao Tian & Duorui Wang & Yahui Zhang & Yuanze Jiang & Tianci Liu & Xiangming Li & Chunhui Wang & Xiaoliang Chen & Jinyou Shao, 2022. "Core–shell dry adhesives for rough surfaces via electrically responsive self-growing strategy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Roger A. Sauer, 2009. "Multiscale modelling and simulation of the deformation and adhesion of a single gecko seta," Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 627-640.
    3. Armand Hatchuel & Camila Freitas Salgueiredo, 2016. "Beyond analogy: A model of bioinspiration for creative design," Post-Print hal-01396212, HAL.
    4. Jennifer Fewell, 2015. "Social Biomimicry: what do ants and bees tell us about organization in the natural world?," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 207-216, October.
    5. John P. Ulhøi, 2021. "From innovation-as-usual towards unusual innovation: using nature as an inspiration," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Tuo Deng & Dongxiu Gao & Xuemei Song & Zhipeng Zhou & Lixiao Zhou & Maixian Tao & Zexiu Jiang & Lian Yang & Lan Luo & Ankun Zhou & Lin Hu & Hongbo Qin & Mingyi Wu, 2023. "A natural biological adhesive from snail mucus for wound repair," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    7. Ongolo, Symphorien, 2015. "On the banality of forest governance fragmentation: Exploring ‘‘gecko politics’’ as a bureaucratic behaviour in limited statehood," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 12-20.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:gcmbxx:v:16:y:2013:i:6:p:577-591. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/gcmb .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.