Design of electrostatic adhesion device using the flexible electrodes

Abstract

This paper presents a fabrication method of electrostatic adhesion device using flexible electrodes. When an electric charge is stored in the bipolar plate of a capacitor, an electrostatic force acts. We perform adhesion to a wall surface using this electrostatic force. Using the electrostatic force, electrostatic adhesion force is controlled by the electricity. The flexible electrodes are created by spraying a solution containing dispersed carbon black onto a silicon rubber. Flexibility of the device can avoid damage to its own and adapt to a variety of wall surface shapes. In experiments, two kinds of device surface structures were created. One is just flat and the other is pillar arrays. The pillar arrays structure was adopted from the viewpoint of biomimetic. Electrostatic adhesion force of these structures was measured with shear and tensile testing machines.