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The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales

Friction is an important subject for sustainability due to problems that are associated with energy loss. In recent years, micro- and nanostructured surfaces have attracted much attention to reduce friction; however, suitable structures are still under consideration. Many functional surfaces are pre...

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Autores principales: Hirai, Yuji, Okuda, Naoto, Saito, Naoki, Ogawa, Takahiro, Machida, Ryuichiro, Nomura, Shûhei, Ôhara, Masahiro, Haseyama, Miki, Shimomura, Masatsugu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477615/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31105188
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics4010002
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author Hirai, Yuji
Okuda, Naoto
Saito, Naoki
Ogawa, Takahiro
Machida, Ryuichiro
Nomura, Shûhei
Ôhara, Masahiro
Haseyama, Miki
Shimomura, Masatsugu
author_facet Hirai, Yuji
Okuda, Naoto
Saito, Naoki
Ogawa, Takahiro
Machida, Ryuichiro
Nomura, Shûhei
Ôhara, Masahiro
Haseyama, Miki
Shimomura, Masatsugu
author_sort Hirai, Yuji
collection PubMed
description Friction is an important subject for sustainability due to problems that are associated with energy loss. In recent years, micro- and nanostructured surfaces have attracted much attention to reduce friction; however, suitable structures are still under consideration. Many functional surfaces are present in nature, such as the friction reduction surfaces of snake skins. In this study, we focused on firebrats, Thermobia domestica, which temporary live in narrow spaces, such as piled papers, so their body surface (integument) is frequently in contact with surrounding substrates. We speculate that, in addition to optical, cleaning effects, protection against desiccation and enemies, their body surface may be also adapted to reduce friction. To investigate the functional effects of the firebrat scales, firebrat surfaces were observed using a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and a colloidal probe atomic force microscope (AFM). Results of surface observations by FE-SEM revealed that adult firebrats are entirely covered with scales, whose surfaces have microgroove structures. Scale groove wavelengths around the firebrat’s head are almost uniform within a scale but they vary between scales. At the level of single scales, AFM friction force measurements revealed that the firebrat scale reduces friction by decreasing the contact area between scales and a colloidal probe. The heterogeneity of the scales’ groove wavelengths suggests that it is difficult to fix the whole body on critical rough surfaces and may result in a “fail-safe” mechanism.
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spelling pubmed-64776152019-05-16 The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales Hirai, Yuji Okuda, Naoto Saito, Naoki Ogawa, Takahiro Machida, Ryuichiro Nomura, Shûhei Ôhara, Masahiro Haseyama, Miki Shimomura, Masatsugu Biomimetics (Basel) Article Friction is an important subject for sustainability due to problems that are associated with energy loss. In recent years, micro- and nanostructured surfaces have attracted much attention to reduce friction; however, suitable structures are still under consideration. Many functional surfaces are present in nature, such as the friction reduction surfaces of snake skins. In this study, we focused on firebrats, Thermobia domestica, which temporary live in narrow spaces, such as piled papers, so their body surface (integument) is frequently in contact with surrounding substrates. We speculate that, in addition to optical, cleaning effects, protection against desiccation and enemies, their body surface may be also adapted to reduce friction. To investigate the functional effects of the firebrat scales, firebrat surfaces were observed using a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and a colloidal probe atomic force microscope (AFM). Results of surface observations by FE-SEM revealed that adult firebrats are entirely covered with scales, whose surfaces have microgroove structures. Scale groove wavelengths around the firebrat’s head are almost uniform within a scale but they vary between scales. At the level of single scales, AFM friction force measurements revealed that the firebrat scale reduces friction by decreasing the contact area between scales and a colloidal probe. The heterogeneity of the scales’ groove wavelengths suggests that it is difficult to fix the whole body on critical rough surfaces and may result in a “fail-safe” mechanism. MDPI 2019-01-04 /pmc/articles/PMC6477615/ /pubmed/31105188 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics4010002 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hirai, Yuji
Okuda, Naoto
Saito, Naoki
Ogawa, Takahiro
Machida, Ryuichiro
Nomura, Shûhei
Ôhara, Masahiro
Haseyama, Miki
Shimomura, Masatsugu
The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title_full The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title_fullStr The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title_full_unstemmed The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title_short The Friction Properties of Firebrat Scales
title_sort friction properties of firebrat scales
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477615/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31105188
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics4010002
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