If you want to know how to make a
sneaker with better traction, just ask a snake. That's the theory driving the
research of Hisham Abdel-Aal, Ph.D., an associate teaching professor from
Drexel University's College of Engineering who is studying snake skin to help
engineers improve the design of textured surfaces, such as engine cylinder
liners, prosthetic joints—and yes, maybe even footwear.
Abdel-Aal, a mechanical engineer
with expertise in tribology, the study of friction, has
been collecting and analyzing snake skins
for almost a decade in an effort to comprehend and quantify the way they
generate friction when they move. In a paper recently published in
the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical
Materials Abdel-Aal explains how this "natural data" can be
ported into the design of commercial products that slip and stick—a process
called "bio-inspired surface engineering."
"Nature has informed many
areas of engineering and design, but tribology is one field of study that has
been somewhat overlooked when it comes to learning from nature," said
Abdel-Aal. "Snakes in particular have a lot to teach us about optimizing
slip and grip. Their existence is dependent on efficiency of motion in very
specific environments. The snakes we are studying today are the result of an
evolutionary process that has fully adapted the micro-structure of their skin and
their body structure to moving and surviving in their habitat from day one.
These environments can be brutal on even our most advanced machinery, so
applying what we know about snake texturing could help our technology adapt as
well."
But listening to nature's design
tips requires quite a bit of translation. Abdel-Aal's work in this area is
quickly becoming the standard for helping engineers unlock the potential of
snake friction control for surface design.
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