Abstract: Two kinds of lean setae with lean cross surfaces were designed from JKR theory and fabricated under vacuum condition. Theoretical calculation indicated that the resulted setae had desired adhesion property when the lean angle was about 20° and cross surfaces angle was about 45°. In addition, it is also convenient to control the attachment and detachment of setae. The universal micro tribometer-2 (UMT-2) system was used to examine the anisotropic adhesion of the setae. Results showed that the adhesion force increased with the increase of the normal load under flat-to-flat contact and finally came to the maximum adhesion force of 2. 4 kPa under a preload of 30mN; the adhesion of sliding against the setae was about 2. 2 kPa, a bit lower than that without sliding. While sliding along the setae, the adhesion reached 3.1 kPa, increased roughly by 41% relative to sliding against the setae. The adhesion increased within a small slide, then, decreased with the increasing distance.

Key words: setae, anisotropy, adhesion, cast

Author: Dai Zhendong, Professor, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing 210016, China

E-mail: zddai@nuaa.edu.cn

Tribology, Vol. 29, Issue 5, 2009, 393-398.