Papers by Author: Chiaki Sato

Abstract: Gecko has a special micro hair on its foot to attach to a surface and climb walls. Mimicking its hair, easily detachable adhesive devices have been developed creating micro-structures on the surfaces. Adhesion strength of these devices changes with peeling direction. Therefore, this dependency enables a compatibility of strong adhesion and easy detachment. In this study, the effect of peeling speed on the adhesive strength of the devices is experimentally investigated.

Abstract: In this paper, the energy absorption characteristics on extruded aluminum box-section strengthened with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates and/or foam material were investigated under impact loading. Impact tests using a pneumatic impact tester were conducted with the specimens in three-point bending flexure with consideration given to the side-door impact beams in vehicles. The absorbed energy to the specimen during the impact was determined from the loaddisplacement curve, which was obtained from the strain gauge attached to the impactor and the laser displacement transducer. From the results, it was found that the strengthening by externally bonding with CFRP laminates improved the impact-induced energy absorption. Also, the effect of the improvement was clearly seen in the case of the use of filling form material in the aluminum extrusion together with attaching CFRP laminates.