Hairy-Layer Friction Reduction Mechanism in the Honeybee Abdomen
Hairy-Layer Friction Reduction Mechanism in the Honeybee Abdomen
复制标题
蜜蜂腹部的毛层摩擦减少机制
DOI：
10.1021/acsami.1c05500
复制
发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
9.5
通讯作者：
Yan Shaoze
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wang Mingyue;Chen Weihua;Zhao Jieliang;Yu Li;Yan Shaoze
Abdominal sections of honeybees undergo numerous reciprocating motions during their lifetime. However, the overlapped contact areas adjacent to the abdominal sections have a shallow wear extent, a physical mechanism that remains obscure to date. Therefore, this study explored a biofrictional reduction model based on a solid surface texture and the hairy surface of the honeybee abdomen. We collected honeybee samples and observed their abdomens using a camera (Zeiss Stemi 508). Subsequently, we sliced these samples using a microtome and detected their microscopic friction. The exterior surface of the honeybee abdomen was not smooth but was distributed with a dense microvilli structure, which played a vital role in adjusting the friction reduction characteristics between the abdominal sections. When the adjacent abdominal sections moved relatively to each other, their upper and lower surfaces were not in direct rigid contact. Briefly, this study shows that the microscale hair arrays on the surface of the posterior abdominal segment can significantly reduce real contact area and friction, which considerably decreases wear or abrasion. The friction reduction mechanism alleviates the abrasion during the relative bending movement and saves a large amount of energy, which is essential for the honeybees’ daily activities. This microtexture compliance friction reduction characteristic could be used to fabricate hierarchical surfaces for long-lasting friction reduction mechanisms, which increase the life of soft devices, including soft actuators and hinges.
