Effects of Biomimetic Surface Designs on Furrow Opener Performance

The effects of biomimetic designs of tine furrow opener surface on equivalent pressure and pressure in the direction of motion on opener surface against soil were studied by finite element method (FEM) simulation and the effects of these designs on tool force and power requirements were examined experimentally.Geometrical structures of the cuticle surfaces of dung beetle (Copris ochus Motschulsky) were examined by stereoscopy.The structures of the cuticle surfaces and Ultra High Mo- lecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) material were modeled on surface of tine furrow opener as biomimetic designs.Seven furrow openers were analyzed in ANSYS program (a FEM simulation software).The biomimetic furrow opener surfaces with UHMWPE structures were found to have lower equivalent pressure and pressure in the direction of motion as compared to the conventional surface and to the biomimetic surfaces with textured steel-35 structures.It was found that the tool force and power were increased with the cutting depth and operating speed and the biomimetic furrow opener with UHMWPE tubular section ridges showed the lowest resistance and power requirement against soil..

Effect of Thermal Fatigue Loading on Tensile Behavior of H13 Die Steel with Biomimetic Surface

Biomimetic surface is an effective ways to promote the performance grade and applied range of materials without alteringtheir substrate.Many improved properties such as resisting fatigue,enduring wear,etc,have been achieved by applyingbiomimetic morphology or structure to some engineering material surfaces.In this paper,aiming to reveal the relationshipbetween thermal cracking behavior and mechanical properties of engineering materials with biomimetic surface,biomimeticspecimens were fabricated using laser technique by imitating the heterogeneous structure on the surface of plant leaves.Theeffect of thermal fatigue cycling on the tensile properties of H13 die steel specimens with different surfaces (several types ofbiomimetic surfaces and a smooth surface) was compared and investigated.As a result,due to the coupling effects of themorphological features on the surface and the microstructure characteristics within unit zone,these specimens with biomimeticsurface exhibit remarkably enhanced Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and 0.2% Yield Strength (YS) compared with referencespecimens while corresponding ductility remains largely unaffected even heightened,whether the thermal fatigue loads or not.The relative mechanisms leading to these improvements have been discussed.

Numerical Study of Wetting Transitions on Biomimetic Surfaces Using a Lattice Boltzmann Approach with Large Density Ratio

The hydrophobicity of natural surfaces has drawn much attention of scientific communities in recent years. By mimicking natural surfaces, the manufactured biomimetic hydrophobic surfaces have been widely applied to green technologies such as self-cleaning surfaces. Although the theories for wetting and hydrophobicity have been developed, the mechanism of wetting transitions between heterogeneous wetting state and homogeneous wetting state is still not fully clarified. As understanding of wetting transitions is crucial for manufacturing a biomimetic superhydrophobic surface, more fundamental discussions in this area should be carried out. In the present work, the wetting transitions are numerically studied using a phase field lattice Boltzmann approach with large density ratio, which should be helpful in understanding the mechanism of wetting transitions. The dynamic wetting transition processes between Cassie-Baxter state and Wenzel state are presented, and the energy barrier and the gravity effect on transition are discussed. It is found that the two wetting transition processes are irreversible for specific inherent contact angles and have different transition routes, the energy barrier exists on an ideally patterned surface and the gravity can be crucial to overcome the energy barrier and trigger the transition.

A Biomimetic Surface for Infection-resistance through Assembly of Metal-phenolic Networks

Despite the fact that numerous infection-resistant surfaces have been developed to prevent bacterial colonization and biofilm formation, developing a stable, highly antibacterial and easily produced surface remains a technical challenge. As a crucial structural component of biofilm, extracellular DNA（eDNA） can facilitate initial bacterial adhesion, subsequent development, and final maturation. Inspired by the mechanistic pathways of natural enzymes（deoxyribonuclease）, here we report a novel antibacterial surface by employing cerium（Ce（Ⅳ）） ion to mimic theDNA-cleavage ability of natural enzymes. In this process, the coordination chemistry of plant polyphenols and metal ions was exploited to create an in situ metal-phenolic film on substrate surfaces. Tannic acid（TA） works as an essential scaffold and Ce（Ⅳ） ion acts as both a cross-linker and a destructor of eDNA. The Ce（Ⅳ）-TA modified surface exhibited highly enhanced bacteria repellency and biofilm inhibition when compared with those of pristine or Fe（Ⅲ）-TA modified samples. Moreover, the easily produced coatings showed high stability under physiological conditions and had nontoxicity to cells for prolonged periods of time. This as-prepared DNA-cleavage surface presents versatile and promising performances to combat biomaterial-associated infections.

Liquid spreading on a pre-wetted biomimetic surface inspired by a dog's tongue

Liquid film flow widely exists in industries due to its high thermal film is strongly influenced by the properties of the working surface efficiency and low flow flux. The spreading of the liquid A biomimetic surface with multi-scale structures inspired by the skin of a dog＇s tongue is proposed in this paper for the enhancement of heat and mass transfer. The spreading and flow behaviors of a gravity-driven liquid falling down the pre-wetted biomimetic surface are compared with that on the smooth sur- faces, via the combination of numerical simulations using the volume of fluid （VOF） method, and experimental measurements using high-speed imaging. On the pre-wetted smooth substrate, liquid merges with two droplets before the free surface of the liquid slowly develops into a parabolic shape. In contrast, on the biomimetic surface, liquid rapidly and uniformly spreads into a thin film which could effectively enhance mass transfer in both spanwise and streamwise directions. The characteristics and distribution of the microstructures on the proposed biomimetic surface are potentially to be used to guide the design of the surface in high efficiency heat exchangers and reactors.

Biomimetic Hydrophobic Surfaces with Low or High Adhesion Based on Poly（vinyl alcohol） and SiO2 Nanoparticles

Superhydrophobic surfaces are often found in nature, such as plant leaves and insect wings. Inspired by superhydrophobic phenomenon of the rose petals and the lotus leaves, biomimetic hydrophnbic surfaces with high or low adhesion were prepared with a facile drop-coating approach in this paper. Poly（vinyl alcohol） （PVA） was used as adhesive and SiO2 nanoparticles were used to fabricate surface micro-structure. Stearic acid or dodecafluoroheptyl-propyl-trimethoxysilane （DFTMS） were used as low surface energy materials to modify the prepared PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces. The effects of size of SiO2 nanoparticles, concentration of SiO2 nanoparticle suspensions and the modifications on the wettability of the surface were investigated. The morphology of the PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces was observed by using scanning electron microscope. Water contact angle of the obtained superhydrophilic surface could reach to 3°. Stearic acid modified PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces showed hydrophobicity with high adhesion. By mixing the SiO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 40 nm and 200 nm and modifying with DFTMS, water contact angle of the obtained coating surface could be up to 155° and slide angle was only 5°. This work provides a facile and useful method to control surface wettability through changing the roughness and chemical composition of a surface.

Fabrication of a biomimetic controllable adhesive surface by ultraprecision multistep and layered scribing and casting molding

Wedge-shaped microstructures have the ability to reproduce the excellent adhesive properties of geckos’feet because of their unique anisotropic structure.In particular,the controllability of the wedge-shaped microstructures on adhesion is beneficial to the undisturbed grasp or the capture of space targets.However,the problem currently remains of how to process it efficiently and with high quality.Here a strategy called ultraprecision multistep and layered scribing is proposed for the manufacture of the biomimetic controllable adhesive surface.The results show that the metal master mold prepared based on the manufacturing strategy has not only good surface topography but also high reliability and durability.Furthermore,the controllable adhesive surface of 1.96 cm2,fabricated by the proposed manufacturing strategy,has a normal adhesion of 1.012 N,and the corresponding shear friction and adhesion coefficient are 3.105 N and 4.82,respectively.Additionally,the controllable adhesive surface has been shown to be approximately superhydrophobic and also to possess the properties of controllable adhesion and dynamic adhesion.Also,after 250 adhesion-detachment cycles,the normal adhesion and shear friction only decrease by 5%and 3%,respectively.The research realizes an environmentally friendly and efficient method by which to manufacture a durable metal mold for fabricating a biomimetic controllable adhesive surface,laying a foundation for its effective application in the adherence of space-floating targets.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF DRAGREDUCING SURFACE OF A REAL SHARK SKIN

It is well known that shark skin surface can effectively inhabit the occurrence of turbulence and reduce the wall friction, but in order to understand the mechanism of drag reduction, one has to solve the problem of the turbulent flow on grooved-scale surface, and in that respect, the direct numerical simulation is an important tool. In this article, based on the real biological shark skin, the model of real shark skin is built through high-accurate scanning and data processing. The turbulent flow on a real shark skin is comprehensively simulated, and based on the simulation, the drag reduction mechanism is discussed. In addition, in order to validate the drag-reducing effect of shark skin surface, actual experiments were carried out in water tunnel, and the experimental results are approximately consistent with the numerical simulation.

Biomimetic Drag Reduction Study on Herringbone Riblets of Bird Feather

Birds have gradually formed various excellent structures such as streamlined shape and hollow shaft of feather to improve their flying performance by millions of years of natural selection. As typical property of bird feather, herringbone riblets align along the shaft of each feather, which is caused by perfect link of barbs, especially for the primary and secondary feathers of wings. Such herringbone riblets of feather are assumed to have great impact on drag reduction. In this paper, microstructures of secondary feathers of adult pigeons are investigated by SEM, and their structural parameters are statistically obtained. Based on quantitative analysis of feather structure, novel biomimetic herringbone riblets with narrow smooth edge are proposed to reduce surface drag. In comparison with traditional microgroove riblets and other drag reduction structures, the drag reduction rate of the proposed biomimetic herringbone riblets is experimentally clarified up to 16%, much higher than others. Moreover, the drag reduction mechanism of herringbone riblets are also confirmed and exploited by CFD.

Characterization of Multi-scale Morphology and Superhydrophobicity of Water Bamboo Leaves and Biomimetic Polydi- methylsiloxane （PDMS） Replicas

The morphology and wettability of Water Bamboo Leaves （WBL） and their biomimetic replicas were investigated. The particular morphology structures of samples were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy （SEM） and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy （CLSM）. The static wettability of samples was assessed by contact angle measurements, while the dy- namic wettability was analyzed by high speed camera system. The wettability mechanism of WBL was also explained by Cassie model. Artificial surfaces were fabricated by duplicating WBL surface microstructures using PDMS in large area （5 cm x 3 cm）. The results show the main structure characteristics of this leaf surface are sub-millimeter groove arrays, micron-scale papillae and a superimposed layer with 3D epicuticular wax sculptures hierarchical structure, and the static Water Contact Angle （WCA） of 15l~~2~ and Water Sliding Angle （WSA） of 4^-6~ indicate that WBL surface is superhydrophobic. The combination of wax film and microstructure of WBL surface gives its surface excellent superhydrophobic property. Complex hierarchical patterns with features from sub-millimeter to micron-scale range are well reproduced. The reason for the absence of nanostructures is melting of plant epidermal wax during the curing process. The WCA values on artificial WBL and negative PDMS replica are 146~ ~ 3~ and 137~ ~ 2~, respectively, demonstrating preferable hydrophobicity. Differences in wetting behavior between natural leaves and artificial leaves originate from an inaccurate replication of the chemistry and structures of the three-dimensional wax projections on the leaf surface. Nevertheless, the morphological features of the leaf transferred to the replica improve signifi- cantly the hydrophobic properties of the replica when compared with the smooth PDMS reference. This study may provide an inspiration for the biomimetic design and construction of large area roughness-induced hydrophobic and anti-sticking material surface.

Characterization of the Topography and Wettability of English Weed Leaves and Biomimetic Replicas

The topography and wettability of the underside of English weed （Oxalis pes-caprae） leaves and of their biomimetic replicas are investigated. Polyvinyl siloxane molds were cast from the leaves and then filled with an epoxy pre-polymer to produce replicas. The particular topographical structures of leaves and replicas were evaluated by optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy （SEM） analysis. The static wettability of leaves and replicas was assessed by contact angle measurements, while the dynamic wettability was characterized by estimating contact angle hysteresis and studying the dynamic behavior of impacting water droplets. A smooth glass slip and its replica were used as control surfaces. The replica moulding method used was able to transfer the characteristic pattern of irregular 100 μm - 200 μm × 60 μm convex papillae interspersed with stomata of the original leaf to the epoxy replicas. The static contact angle of 143°± 3° and the contact angle hysteresis of 2~ indicate that the underside of the English weed leaf is close to superhydrophobic. The lower contact angles （130° ± 4°） and higher hysteresis （31°） observed for the replica when compared with the original leaves were associated to an inaccurate replication of the chemistry and structures of the three-dimensional wax projections covering the plant surface. Also, trichomes in the original leaves could not be accurately reproduced due to their flexibility and fragility. Differences in wetting behavior were also evident from droplet impact experiments, with rebound regimes prevailing in the original leaves and regimes characterized by higher adhesion and larger dissipation predominating in the replicas. Nevertheless, the morphological features of the leaf transferred to the replica were sufficient to promote a clear hydrophobic behavior of the replica when compared with the smooth epoxy reference surface.

Investigation of the Anisotropic Morphology-Induced Effects of the Slippery Zone in Pitchers of Nepenthes alata

Plant of carnivorous genus Nepenthes alata has evolved specific pitchers to prey insects for survival in the barren habitat, especially its slippery zone. The excellent slippery function has received considerable interest because of its potential applica- tion in antifriction surface design. The surface morphologies of intact and de-waxed slippery zones were characterized using scanning electron microscope and scanning white-light interferometer. Hierarchical structures with anisotropic micro- lunate structure and nano- wax crystals were found on the slippery zone. Due to the hierarchical structures, the slippery zone is hy- drophobic. It shows a significant anisotropic wettability with static contact angles 153.3° and 140.1° in the directions perpen- dicular and parallel to the upward direction （toward the peristome）, respectively. The sliding angles are -3° and -10° in the downward and upward directions, respectively. Crawling experiments indicate that the microscopic surface roughness and the brittleness of the wax crystals may reduce insect attachment in different modes according to the insect mass differences. Moreover, artificial slippery surfaces inspired by the slippery zone of Nepenthes alata were fabricated. Traction experiments quantitatively verified that the friction force of replicated lunate structures with Ra-2.54 μm surface roughness was reduced by about 25% as compared to flat surface with Ra-0.56 μm surface roughness for cricket claws.

Light Trapping Effect in Wing Scales of Butterfly Papilio peranthus and Its Simulations

Broadband light trapping effect and arrays of sub-wavelength textured structures based on the butterfly wing scales are applicable to solar cells and stealth technologies. In this paper, the fine optical structures in wing scales of butterfly Papilio peranthus, exhibiting efficient light trapping effect, were carefully examined. First, the reflectivity was measured by reflectance spectrum. Field Emission Scanning Electronic Microscope （FESEM） and Transmission Electron Microscope （TEM） were used to observe the coupling morphologies and structures of the scales. Then, the optimized 3D model of the coupling structure was created combining Scanning Electron Microscope （SEM） and TEM data. Afterwards, the mechanism of the light trapping effect of these structures was analyzed by simulation and theoretical calculations. A multilayer nano-structure of chitin and air was found. These structures are effective in increasing optical path, resulting in that most of the incident light can be trapped and adsorbed within the structure at last. Furthermore, the simulated optical results are consistent with the experimental and calculated ones. This result reliably confirms that these structures induce an efficient light trapping effect. This work can be used as a reference for in-depth study on the fabrication of highly efficient bionic optical devices, such as solar cells, photo detectors, high-contrast, antiglare, and so forth.