%0 Journal Article
%A Putignano, Carmine
%A Dapp, Wolfgang
%A Müser, Martin
%T A Green’s Function Molecular Dynamics Approach to the Mechanical Contact between Thin Elastic Sheets and Randomly Rough Surfaces
%J Biomimetics
%V 1
%N 1
%@ 2313-7673
%C Basel
%I MDPI
%M FZJ-2016-06909
%P 7 -
%D 2016
%X Adhesion of biological systems is often made possible through thin elastic layers, such as human skin. To address the question of when a layer is sufficiently thin to become adhesive, we extended Green’s function molecular dynamics (GFMD) to account for the finite thickness of an elastic body that is supported by a fluid foundation. We observed that thin layers can much better accommodate rough counterfaces than thick structures. As a result, the contact area is enlarged, in particular, when the width of the layer w approaches or even falls below the short-wavelength cutoff λs of the surface spectra. In the latter case, the proportionality coefficient between area and load scales is (w/λs)3 , which is consistent with Persson’s contact mechanics theory.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000414986300006
%R 10.3390/biomimetics1010007
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/824290