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An experimental study of double-peeling mechanism inspired by biological adhesive systems

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Abstract

Double- (or multiple-) peeling systems consist of two (or numerous) tapes adhering to a substrate and having a common hinge, where the pulling force is applied. Biological systems, consisting of tape-like (or spatula-like) contact elements, are widely observed in adhesive pads of flies, beetles, spiders, and geckos. It was previously hypothesized and analytically modeled that the simultaneous use of two or more such tape-like contacts in the opposite movement of contralateral legs during ceiling locomotion leads to enhanced, robust, and stable overall attachment, if compared to independently working contact points. In this paper, this biological solution for smart adhesion is demonstrated in an experiment using elastic adhesive tapes. The obtained results not only aided in explaining the functional mechanism of biological adhesive systems, but also in providing an experimental proof for biological observations and previous theoretical models.

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Acknowledgements

Extensive work of V. Kastner on the preliminary experiments is greatly acknowledged. We would like to thank E. Appel for assistance with Fig. 2a. We would like to thank A. Kovalev for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was partially supported by CARTRIB Project of The Leverhulme Trust (S. N. Gorb) and projects CP 1550 and 1623 by a grant of the Cluster of Excellence 80 The Future Ocean (L. Heepe and S. N. Gorb). The Future Ocean is funded within the framework of the Excellence Initiative by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) on behalf of the German federal and state governments. S. Raguseo greatly acknowledges support of the Erasmus\(+\) programme of the European Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University, Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Lars Heepe, Saverio Raguseo & Stanislav N. Gorb

  2. Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, NanoSYD Alsion 2, 6400, Sønderborg, Denmark

    Lars Heepe

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  1. Lars Heepe
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Correspondence to Lars Heepe.

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Heepe, L., Raguseo, S. & Gorb, S.N. An experimental study of double-peeling mechanism inspired by biological adhesive systems. Appl. Phys. A 123, 124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0753-9

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