Exploring Convergence of Snake Skin-Inspired Texture Designs and Additive Manufacturing for Mechanical Traction

Student: Catherine Tiner

Degree: M.S., December 2019

Major Professor: Dr. Ajay Malshe

Research Area(s):

Nanoscience & Engineering

Photonics

Textures in nature can be exploited to benefit industrial applications.
Surfaces interact with aggressive environmental factors.
Snake scales are composed of micro-denticulations and rough edges which allow the snake to grip the ground.

To take examples of the textures found on snake skin and write similar textures derived from that architecture. Analyze laser processed surfaces for microstructural and chemical modifications.

Use of a laser-powder bed fusion process to write architecture of the scales that form snake skin.
Laser microfabrication allows for complex patterns to be written.
3D written microstructures are chemically and physically analyzed.
Will implement patterns onto metals to test their frictional parameters.

Studied snakes skin using profilometer and identified the major advantages to the structure.
Designed and 3D printed our own “skin”.
Tested the anisotropic frictional properties due to the laser patterning and compared to real snake skin.

Observed a periodic increase and decrease following micropattern’s periodicity.
This demonstrates that snake-skin micro texture could control traction at microscale by periodic modulation of micro frictional properties of 3D printed material.
Larger scales and smaller scales were tested to prove that the anisotropy is present due to the micro patterning and not the size of the overall scale.
Overall, a snake skin-insprired 3D texture was successfully manufactured and showed clear anisotropic frictional properties.