University of California, Davis

BIM218 - Microsciences
Professor Tingrui Pan

Final Project
Surface Tension Based Adhesion Device

Vashwar Tajdidur Rouf

Student ID:996263456
 Surface Tension Based Adhesion Device

Abstract:
A number of ants employ wet adhesion technique to climb up any surface or
sometimes adhere to surfaces. Based on this idea I have presented a new concept for an adhesion
device. The device combines two concepts: The force from a large number of small capillary
bridges can be significant and these bridges can be quickly made or broken with electronic
control (switchable). A low voltage micro-pump based on continuous electrowetting can be
made used for this purpose. I demonstrate the adhesion strength of such a device with decreasing
the size of each capillary bridge. Finally it can be concluded that based on this theory a compact
size adhesion device can be made with no solid moving parts.

Introduction:

Let us think for a second how ants climb up walls while we human beings cant(in real
life). While some ants(like gecko) employ dry adhesion mechanism while the others employ wet
adhesion mechanism. In case of dry
adhesion, ants can stick to a surface using
Van Der Waals force. Since Van Der Waals
force is linear and long range, it is enough to
support the small body weight of ants. Some
ants like gecko use dry adhesion techniques.
Some other ants employ a wet adhesion
mechanism. In this case, ants generate a
capillary bridge with the surface they are
climbing. The attractive force due to this
capillary bridge is enough to support the
body weight of ants. Some ants use wet
adhesion as a defense mechanism. A beetle
called Hemisphaerota cyanea can withstand
a pulling force up to 3 g(more than 200
times its body weight)[1]. So if a beetle can
Fig1: Hemisphaerota cyanea is subjected withstand a force more than 200 times its
to 2g pull.[1] body weight can a device be made which
can support the weight of human beings?

Actually in this paper, I have investigated the feasibility of realizing such a device.

Capillary Bridge:
A capillary bridge is actually a liquid droplet between two surfaces (Fig:2a). The
attractive force generated due to capillary bridge has two components. One is due to pressure
difference across liquid gas interface. The other arises from axial component of surface tension
acting along the liquid perimeter.
2R

(a) (b) (c)

Fig 2(a) Capillary bridge,(b) Top view of a single large contact(capillary bridge,(c) A large
contact subdivided into many sub-contact

The sum of these forces can be written as:

HYPERLINK http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_udi=B7GHW-4H8MP
…..(1)

where R is the radius of , γ is the liquid surface tension, and ΔP is the pressure difference inside
and outside the meniscus, which is related to the local liquid profile by the Young–Laplace
equation. Here negative sign of the force denotes attractive force. Calculation of adhesive force
in Eq. (1) requires the solution to liquid profile for given liquid volume, contact angles and
height of the capillary bridge. As shown in [1] , adhesive force can be calculated as a function of
the prescribed liquid volume V, contact angles θ1 and θ2, and height of capillary bridge H via the
following expression:

F=πηγ R …………………(2)

Where η is a function liquid volume V, contact angles θ1 and θ2, and bridge height H. So from
equation (2) ,it can be seen that F is directly proportional to R which implies that adhesive force
is linear force. Since adhesive force is a linear force, instead of using a single bridge if we
subdivide a single bridge into multiple small bridge then the adhesive force will be increased. If
we divide a large contact into N small contact, then the total force of the small contact F n can be
related to the force of the large contact according to the following equation:

F n=√ N F ………………….(3)

Now combing equation (2) and (3) the total force due to N small capillary bridge can be given
by:

φAγηπ
F n= ………………..(4)
R
Here,φ=Ac/A,where Ac=Summation of contact area of each individual contact, A=total contact
area of the device.
It can be seen from (4) that decreasing the radius of each area should increase the total adhesion
force. It may argued that since η depends on volume of the volume of the liquid which in turn
depends on the R, Our approximation of adhesion force as a linear force may not be true. But
simulation results will justify our approximation.

A proposed adhesion device:

Reservoir

Fig3:Block diagram of adhesion device

(a) (b) (c)

Fig4:(a) 3D view,(b)Top view,(c) Cross-section view of the adhesion device.

A block diagram of my proposed device is shown in Fig 3. The principle of
operation of such a device is very simple. If the water is pumped from a reservoir to the adhesion
device, capillary bridge will be formed between the device and the surface it wants to adhere. As
a result an attraction force will be generated between the device and the surface. If the generated
attractive force is greater than the weight of the device, the device can be attached to the surface.
Suppose that the device is now attached to a surface. Now if we can pump out water from the
adhesion device, capillary bridge will be broken. As a result the device will no longer be attached
to the surface. A low voltage micro-pump can be used for pumping purpose. Thus an electrically
switchable adhesion device can be realized using wet adhesion principle.
As seen from Fig 4(a) adhesion device consists nothing but cylindrical contacts. Each of this
contacts can form capillary bridge with the surface it wants to adhere. For pumping water in and
out of the device we can use a low voltage micro-pump based on continuous electrowetting[2].
The basic concept of continuous electrowetting is illustrated
in Fig5. As a voltage is applied along the x direction, the
surface tension on the right-hand side of the mercury is less
than that on the left-hand side. This gradient in surface
tension induces motion of the mercury to the right. Based on
Fig5:Continuous Electrowetting This principle a low voltage micro-pump can be realized[2].

Principle of operation of the pump is shown

in Fig 6. In step 1, with a positive applied
voltage to the electrode, the mercury drop
moves toward the outlet chamber and the
membrane moves downward, opening the
valve in the inlet chamber while closing the
valve in the outlet chamber. In this step, the
liquid flows into the inlet chamber and
comes out from the outlet chamber. In step
2, the polarity of the applied voltage is
reversed to make the mercury drop move
toward the inlet chamber. The actions in the
two chambers are reversed and the liquid in
the inlet chamber flows to the outlet
chamber through the silicone tube channel.
Fig6: Continuous Electrowetting Pump. The oscillating mercury motion by
alternating applied signals generates a net flow of liquid from the inlet to the outlet. The
maximum flow rate can be as high as 70 µl/min at a frequency of 25 Hz with an applied voltage
of 2.3V[2].
Results:
H=2 µm

80 H=1µm

60 H=0.5 µm
40
F(N)
20
0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
R(µm)
(a) (b)
Fig7:(a) Shape of a droplet between two plates(R=5µm,H=1 µm),(b)Variation of force with
respect to R and H
FEM analysis predicts the shape of a water droplet between two parallel plates (Fig 7a). Force
can be calculated using (4) for the proposed adhesion device. For our device we have assumed
φ=0.5. The value of η is taken from [1] for different values of R and H. For our analysis we have
assumed contact angles to be 0o. We have also assumed our device area to be 1 square cm.
Simulation results show with decrease of R total force of the device increase. The simulation
result justifies our approximation of adhesion force to be a linear force. Simulation results also
show that total force increases with decrease of H. For R=2µm and H=0.52µm device can
generate an attractive force of 61N. Thus may be integrating lots of such devices with our gloves
and shoes, the devices may be able to support the full body weight of a grown human being.

Discussions:
In this paper, I have only performed the theoretical analysis of how much force can a
capillary bridge can generate. But to implement such a device in real life a lot of practical issues
have to be considered. For example, for our analysis we have assumed each contact makes a
capillary bridge with the surface. But it in real life, if the surface is hydrophilic water will spread
on the substrate and our assumption of each contact making a capillary bridge will not hold. So
further research is needed to design device geometry where each contact can perform a capillary
bridge. Another issue is the stiction between two adjacent contacts. If there is water between two
adjacent contacts, capillary bridge will be formed two contacts. So to implement an adhesion
device in real life these two problems have to be solved first.

Conclusion:
In this paper, I have proposed the concept an adhesion device. It is true that a lot of
issues have to be solved for practical realization of the device. But it is not impossible to design
such a device. May be such a device will be realized soon which will help human beings to climb
walls in real life like ants.

Reference:
[1] Eisner T, Aneshansley DJ (2000) Defense by foot adhesion in a beetle (Hemisphaerota
cyanea). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:6568–6573.
[2] Yun K-S, Cho I-J, Bu J-U, Kim C-J and Yoon E (2002) A surface-tension driven micropump
for low-voltage and low-power operations J. Microelectromech. Syst. 11 454-61