Meeting Abstract
Bio-logging tags enable behavioral studies of marine mammals and are often secured to the animals using suction cups to minimize impact. A secure attachment that does not interfere with locomotion or influence animal behavior is a key element of the tag system. Cup performance is dependent on the mechanics of the attachment surface. Marine mammal skin is made up of an anisotropic nonhomogeneous distribution of integrated tissue layers that possess variable viscoelastic properties which exhibit a nonlinear stress-strain relationship during loading and unloading processes. Current understanding of the biomechanical interface between the skin and cup is limited, and the experimental evaluation of suction cup performance on soft tissue is lacking. In this study, a specifically designed test setup that incorporates a uniaxial tension test machine, a pressure transducer and a camera is used to record the force, elongation, pressure differential, and deformation of a suction cup on a soft surface during controlled loading. Data from the experiment are used to create a simplified model of the coupled system that is used to examine design parameters and performance trade-offs between cup designs. These design tools are then used to refine and experimentally evaluate a remora-inspired suction cup design. These results provide an improved understanding of the coupled cup/skin system, as well as facilitating bio-inspired suction cup design.
