Dresden 2006 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help
O: Oberflächenphysik
O 32: Adsorption IV
O 32.7: Talk
Thursday, March 30, 2006, 12:45–13:00, TRE Phys
Friction and adhesion mechanisms of the hairy attachment systems in spiders — •Michael Schuch1, Wolfram Hild1, Kathrin Carl2, Yonghe Liu1, Matthias Scherge3, and Juergen A. Schaefer1 — 1TU Ilmenau, Institut für Physik und Zentrum für Mikro- und Nanotechnologien, Postfach 100565, 98684 Ilmenau, Germany — 2TU Ilmenau, Fakultät für Maschinenbau, Postfach 100565, 98684 Ilmenau, Germany — 3IAVF Antriebstechnik AG, Im Schlehert 32, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany
Biological attachment systems, such as the foot of geckos and spiders show a rich variety of shape and structure. Easy deformable attachment pads, hierarchical hairy structures with dimensions in the range of some hundred nm up to some µm lead to an enormous attachment ability. It has been proposed that attachment is achieved by the interaction between the attachment system and substrate, and by visco-elastic deformation. Both mechanisms are closely related with the contact area, which changes in the motion process. This work examines the contact area of spider feet on glass substrate and measures the friction and detachment forces. A living spider moving on a transparent glass substrate is observed by an optical microscope directly. The motion process recorded by a CCD-camera is examined to determine how the attachment and detachment are related with contact area of the spider feet. The foot prints obtained by a dying method are observed by a scanning electron microscope and correlated with the optical observations. Friction and detachment forces are measured with a microtribometer. The relationship between the friction and detachment forces and the contact area is discussed.