School of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Thomas Endlein

School of Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Monday, November 26, 2018 at 14:00
Wolfson Building of Mechanical Engineering, Room 206

To stick without getting stuck – control of attachment forces in animal adhesive pads

Dr. Thomas Endlein

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Department of Physics at Interfaces, Mainz, Germany.

Many animals, including geckos, frogs, spiders and insects have evolved specialised adhesive pads on their feet in order to climb smooth or slippery surfaces. These pads show great promise for biomimetic applications as they have several advantages over man-made adhesives: they stick to a variety of surfaces, including smooth, rough, hydrophilic, hydrophobic and even wet ones. Furthermore, despite being inherently sticky, the pads 'self-clean' without the need for grooming. Last, animal pads are highly dynamic, i.e. animals can switch from very firm attachment to efficient detachment within milli-seconds. No currently known technical adhesive can achieve this. Using ants and frogs as model systems, I will present how these animals can cope with different challenges, like attaching to smooth and rough surfaces, climbing vertical and overhanging substrates, carrying extra loads and staying attached when suddenly perturbed. If we understand how animal adhesive pads work, we might be able to design technical adhesives which would function in similar ways.