Effect of the shape and size of interfacial micro-cavities on the adhesion of elastic solids

Abstract

Microstructuring surfaces may strongly affect the adhesive behaviour at the contact interface, resulting in enhanced or weakened adhesion depending on the geometry of the surface structures and material properties. In this study we investigate the effects of size, shape and geometrical distribution of micro-cavities on the adhesion between an elastic solid and a rigid substrate. We show that reducing the lattice size by keeping constant the cavity size, may significantly weak the adhesion strength of the interface as a consequence of the interaction of the elastic stress and deformation fields generated by each single microcavity.