Elasto-capillary adhesion: The effect of deformability on adhesion strength and detachment

We study the interaction between capillary forces and deformation in the context of a deformable capillary adhesive: a clamped, tense membrane is adhered to a rigid substrate by the surface tension of a liquid droplet. We find that the equilibrium adhesive force for this elastocapillary adhesive is significantly enhanced in comparison to the capillary adhesion between rigid plates. In particular, the equilibrium adhesion force is orders of magnitude greater when the membrane is sufficiently deformed to contact the substrate. From a dynamic perspective, however, the formation of a fluid-filled dimple slows this approach to contact and means that stable attachment is only achieved if adhesion is maintained for a minimum time. The inclusion of a variable membrane tension (as a means of modifying the deformability) gives additional control over the system, allowing new detachment strategies to be explored.