scholarly journals Insect wet steps: loss of fluid from insect feet adhering to a substrate

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (78) ◽  
pp. 20120639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander E. Kovalev ◽  
Alexander E. Filippov ◽  
Stanislav N. Gorb

Reliable attachment ability of insect adhesive pads is proposed to be due to pad secretion. It has been shown that surface roughness strongly reduces adhesion forces of insect pads. This effect has been explained by decreased contact area and rapid fluid absorption from the pad surface by rough surfaces. However, it remains unclear how the fluid flows on rough substrates having different roughness parameters and surface energy. In this paper, we numerically studied the fluid flow on rough substrates during contact formation. The results demonstrate that an increase in the density of the substrate structures leads to an increase in fluid loss from the pad: substrates with a fine roughness absorb pad fluid faster. Decreased affinity of the solid substrate to the fluid has a more remarkable effect on the fluid loss and leads to a decrease in the fluid loss. With an increase in the aspect ratio of the substrate irregularities (porosity), the fluid loss is decreased. The numerical results obtained agree well with previous observations on insects and experimental results on nanoporous substrata. The significance of the obtained results for understanding biological wet adhesives is discussed.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1031-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Gorb ◽  
Sandro Böhm ◽  
Nadine Jacky ◽  
Louis-Philippe Maier ◽  
Kirstin Dening ◽  
...  

The impeding effect of plant surfaces covered with three-dimensional wax on attachment and locomotion of insects has been shown previously in numerous experimental studies. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different parameters of crystalline wax coverage on insect attachment. We performed traction experiments with the beetle Coccinella septempunctata and pull-off force measurements with artificial adhesive systems (tacky polydimethylsiloxane semi-spheres) on bioinspired wax surfaces formed by four alkanes of varying chain lengths (C36H74, C40H82, C44H90, and C50H102). All these highly hydrophobic coatings were composed of crystals having similar morphologies but differing in size and distribution/density, and exhibited different surface roughness. The crystal size (length and thickness) decreased with an increase of the chain length of the alkanes that formed these surfaces, whereas the density of the wax coverage, as well as the surface roughness, showed an opposite relationship. Traction tests demonstrated a significant, up to 30 fold, reduction of insect attachment forces on the wax surfaces when compared with the reference glass sample. Attachment of the beetles to the wax substrates probably relied solely on the performance of adhesive pads. We found no influence of the wax coatings on the subsequent attachment ability of beetles. The obtained data are explained by the reduction of the real contact between the setal tips of the insect adhesive pads and the wax surfaces due to the micro- and nanoscopic roughness introduced by wax crystals. Experiments with polydimethylsiloxane semi-spheres showed much higher forces on wax samples when compared to insect attachment forces measured on these surfaces. We explain these results by the differences in material properties between polydimethylsiloxane probes and tenent setae of C. septempunctata beetles. Among wax surfaces, force experiments showed stronger insect attachment and higher pull-off forces of polydimethylsiloxane probes on wax surfaces having a higher density of wax coverage, created by smaller crystals.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 900
Author(s):  
Maria Vardaki ◽  
Aida Pantazi ◽  
Ioana Demetrescu ◽  
Marius Enachescu

In this work we present the results of a functional properties assessment via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based surface morphology, surface roughness, nano-scratch tests and adhesion force maps of TiZr-based nanotubular structures. The nanostructures have been electrochemically prepared in a glycerin + 15 vol.% H2O + 0.2 M NH4F electrolyte. The AFM topography images confirmed the successful preparation of the nanotubular coatings. The Root Mean Square (RMS) and average (Ra) roughness parameters increased after anodizing, while the mean adhesion force value decreased. The prepared nanocoatings exhibited a smaller mean scratch hardness value compared to the un-coated TiZr. However, the mean hardness (H) values of the coatings highlight their potential in having reliable mechanical resistances, which along with the significant increase of the surface roughness parameters, which could help in improving the osseointegration, and also with the important decrease of the mean adhesion force, which could lead to a reduction in bacterial adhesion, are providing the nanostructures with a great potential to be used as a better alternative for Ti implants in dentistry.


2011 ◽  
Vol 189-193 ◽  
pp. 1538-1542
Author(s):  
Li Xiao Jia ◽  
Yong Zhen Zhang ◽  
Yong Ping Niu ◽  
San Ming Du ◽  
Jian Li

In order to decrease accidents of slips and falls, COFs of rubber samples with different surface roughness were measured by Brungraber Mark II. And the correlation coefficients between roughness parameters and COF were calculated. The rusults have shown that the COF increases with surface roughness and the correlation coefficient between Sq and COF is highest. In general, almost all the roughness parameters used in the study have high correlation with COF. Parameters had the highest correlation with COF depends on the materials used and test conditions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Gurau ◽  
Nadir Ayrilmis ◽  
Jan Thore Benthien ◽  
Martin Ohlmeyer ◽  
Manja Kitek Kuzman ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2210
Author(s):  
Zohreh Alijani ◽  
John Lindsay ◽  
Melanie Chabot ◽  
Tracy Rowlandson ◽  
Aaron Berg

Surface roughness is an important factor in many soil moisture retrieval models. Therefore, any mischaracterization of surface roughness parameters (root mean square height, RMSH, and correlation length, ʅ) may result in unreliable predictions and soil moisture estimations. In many environments, but particularly in agricultural settings, surface roughness parameters may show different behaviours with respect to the orientation or azimuth. Consequently, the relationship between SAR polarimetric variables and surface roughness parameters may vary depending on measurement orientation. Generally, roughness obtained for many SAR-based studies is estimated using pin profilers that may, or may not, be collected with careful attention to orientation to the satellite look angle. In this study, we characterized surface roughness parameters in multi-azimuth mode using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). We characterized the surface roughness parameters in different orientations and then examined the sensitivity between polarimetric variables and surface roughness parameters; further, we compared these results to roughness profiles obtained using traditional pin profilers. The results showed that the polarimetric variables were more sensitive to the surface roughness parameters at higher incidence angles (θ). Moreover, when surface roughness measurements were conducted at the look angle of RADARSAT-2, more significant correlations were observed between polarimetric variables and surface roughness parameters. Our results also indicated that TLS can represent more reliable results than pin profiler in the measurement of the surface roughness parameters.


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