Adhesion Characterization Rig

This testing rig measures the friction and adhesion properties of an anisotropic dry adhesive.

I joined a project that was developing an anisotropic dry adhesive (gecko-inspired adhesive) with simplified manufacturing and reduced cost compared to existing solutions. I was tasked with designing a fixture to allow the researchers to evaluate the friction and adhesion properties of various batches of adhesives. The adhesive generated adhesion by first contacting a smooth surface with a certain preload force then applying a certain amount of shear. The rig allowed researchers to discover the relationship between preload force, shear force, and generated adhesion force for various batches of adhesives.

The rig consisted of lower and upper sections. The lower section contained the adhesives and actuation and the upper section contained the sensing. In the lower section, adhesives were placed on concentric rings, actuated by a motor. One ring was connected to the rotor and the other to the housing; actuation of the motor provided equal and opposite torques to the contra-rotating rings.

The upper section contained a 6-axis force/torque sensor and a transparent mount to hold the glass plate the adhesives would contact. It was important for the upper assembly to be as transparent as possible to allow researchers to make visual observations during the tests.