Scaling Effect of Dry Adhesion for Microfibrils and Transition Size to Flaw Insensitivity

Abstract The mechanics of detachment (e.g., a cylindrical fibril separating from a dissimilar substrate) has been treated in the perspectives of contact mechanics and fracture mechanics theory along with numerical simulations, but systematic experimental studies on the adhesion of an individual microfibril is still scarce. In this work, we conducted a detailed experiment on the adhesion tests of individual cylindrical microfibrils, within a large range of varying diameters from 4 to 400 μm, made of three different polyurethanes with moduli among ∼1–40 MPa. We confirmed the scaling effect of an individual microfibril, i.e., the adhesion σad of the individual fibril scales with fibrillar diameters D with an exponent of ∼ −0.4 to −0.45. As the fibrillar diameter is reduced below 10 μm, the adhesion becomes unchanged and size insensitive. This result is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Furthermore, the effects of the Young’s modulus and retraction rates during the adhesion tests on the adhesion strength were also investigated. Our experimental work will provide a guide for the optimal design of the micron-scale surfaces with improved adhesion.