The microstructure morphology on ant footpads and its effect on ant adhesion
The microstructure morphology on ant footpads and its effect on ant adhesion
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DOI：
10.1007/s00707-016-1612-7
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发表时间：
2016-04
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Zhilong Peng;Cong Wang;Shaohua Chen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Zhilong Peng;Cong Wang;Shaohua Chen
蚂蚁因其特殊的攀爬能力而展现出仿生应用前景。然而，生活在不同环境中的不同蚂蚁种类表现出不同的粘附能力。为了揭示其机械机制，对四种代表性蚂蚁的足垫进行了实验研究。蚂蚁足垫腹侧有规则的微结构，不同种类的蚂蚁具有不同的形状和大小。通过旋转技术进一步测量每种蚂蚁的法向粘附力，该法向粘附力受蚂蚁足垫腹侧表面微观结构的显着影响。建立理论模型是为了揭示机械机制，其中考虑了毛细管力和范德华相互作用。研究发现，实际接触面积显着取决于腹侧的微结构，这进一步影响总粘附力。提出了蚂蚁足垫干湿粘附的共存机制。本文的发现有助于深入理解不同蚂蚁物种的粘附机制，并有助于仿生智能粘附表面的设计。
Ants show a bionic application prospect due to their special climbing ability. However, different ant species living in different environments exhibit different adhesion abilities. In order to reveal their mechanical mechanisms, footpads of four representative ant species are investigated experimentally. Regular microstructures on the ventral side of ant footpads are clearly observed, which possess different shapes and sizes for different ant species. The normal adhesion force for each kind of ant is further measured with a spinning technique, which is significantly affected by the microstructure on the ventral surface of ant footpads. Theoretical models are established in order to disclose the mechanical mechanism, in which both the capillary force and the van der Waals interaction are considered. It is found that the real contact area depends significantly on the microstructures on the ventral side, which further affects the total adhesion force. The coexistence mechanism of wet and dry adhesion for ant footpads is proposed. The finding in the present paper should be useful for deep understanding of the adhesion mechanism of different ant species and helpful for the design of bio-inspired intelligent adhesion surfaces.