Journal of Jilin University(Engineering and Technology Edition) ›› 2025, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (11): 3774-3782.doi: 10.13229/j.cnki.jdxbgxb.20240171

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A bionic sucker design with high surface adaptability

Jian-ning DING1,2(),Zi-jian YIN1,Hong-wei HU1,Guang-gui CHENG1(),Zhong-qiang ZHANG1   

  1. 1.Institute of Intelligent Flexible Mechatronics，Jiangsu University，Zhenjiang 212013，China
    2.School of Mechanical Engineering，Yangzhou University，Yangzhou 225127，China
  • Received:2024-02-21 Online:2025-11-01 Published:2026-02-03
  • Contact: Guang-gui CHENG E-mail:dingjn@ujs.edu.cn;ggcheng@ujs.edu.cn

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Abstract:

Aims to address the challenge of poor adhesion and easy detachment of existing suction cups on rough surfaces and small structural objects. Inspired by the structure of leech suckers， we designed a novel type of sucker， RSS （rough-small-sucker）， which has multiple folds and a bottom array of small pits. Modeling and simulation are employed to investigate the adhesion mechanism， while experiments explore the impact of fold quantity and pit size on vertical adhesion and horizontal shear resistance of the sucker on rough surfaces. We study the attachment mechanism of the sucker by modeling and simulation， and experimentally investigate the effects of different fold numbers and hole sizes on the vertical adhesion performance and horizontal shear resistance of the sucker on rough surfaces. Results show that the multi-folded structure significantly improves RSS's vertical adhesion （up to 87.9% improvement under -40 kPa vacuum）. Pit size has minimal effect on vertical adhesion. For various sandpaper grits， small pit sizes （0.5 mm and 1 mm） have minimal impact on horizontal shear resistance of double-folded and triple-folded suckers. However， with a hole size of 1.5 mm， there is a 40.5% increase in horizontal shear resistance. The horizontal shear resistance increases with pit size for 1 600-grit sandpaper. Pit size has no significant effect on horizontal shear resistance for single-folded suction cups.

Key words: bionic sucker, multi-folded, array of small pit, modeling and simulation

CLC Number: 

  • TB17

Table 1

Different RSS suckers size parameters"

吸盘编号褶皱数量/个小孔直径/mm
①10.5
②11.0
③11.5
④20.5
⑤21.0
⑥21.5
⑦30.5
⑧31.0
⑨31.5

Fig.1

3D models of RSS suckers with different structural parameters"

Fig.2

Simulation of the adsorption deformation process of three RSS suckers"

Fig.3

Mises stress simulation of nine different bionic suckers"

Fig.4

Manufacturing process of RSS suckers"

Fig.5

RSS suckers performance test device"

Table 2

Adsorption force of RSS suckers under -40 kPa"

孔径大小/0.5 mm褶皱结构
单褶皱双褶皱三褶皱
0.52.447 8003.593 7753.568 600
1.02.345 4753.986 5264.051 725
1.52.324 8004.226 0004.370 275

Table 3

Horizontal shear resistance of RSS suckers under-40 kPa"

吸盘编号砂纸数目
150目800目1 600目
①1.535 01.402 51.362 5
②1.495 01.412 51.385 0
③1.490 01.390 01.377 5
④1.435 01.467 51.397 5
⑤1.467 51.472 51.482 5
⑥1.847 51.787 51.712 5
⑦1.525 01.290 01.117 5
⑧1.407 51.392 51.427 5
⑨1.822 51.802 51.785 0

Fig.6

RSS suckers structure in relation to vertical suction force and horizontal shear resistance"

Fig.7

RSS suckers and normal suckers for rough surfaces and small sized objects"

Fig.8

Comparison of RSS suckers and normal suckers adsorption experiment"

Fig.9

Plot of adsorption force of best sucker structure versus vacuum level at different roughness levels"

Fig.10

RSS suckers adsorption performance test experiment"

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