By employing a combination of approaches from several disciplines the authors elucidate the principles of a variety of biomechanical systems that rely on frictional surfaces or adhesive secretions to attach parts of the body to one another or to attach organisms to a substrate. This account provides an excellent starting point for engineers and physicists working with biological systems and for biologists studying friction and adhesion. It will also serve as a valuable introduction for graduate students entering this interdisciplinary field of research.

This book brings together recent developments in the areas of MEMS tribology, novel lubricants and coatings for nanotechnological applications, biomimetics in tribology and fundamentals of micro/nano-tribology. Tribology plays important roles in the functioning and durability of machines at small length scales because of the problems associated with strong surface adhesion, friction, wear etc. Recently, a number of studies have been conducted to understand tribological phenomena at nano/micro scales and many new tribological solutions for MEMS have been proposed.

Drawn from presentations at a recent National Science Foundation Summer Institute on Nanomechanics, Nanomaterials, and Micro/Nanomanufacturing, Micro- and Nanoscale Phenomena in Tribology explores the convergence of the multiple science and engineering disciplines involved in tribology and the connection from the macro to nano world. Written by specialists from computation, materials science, mechanical engineering, surface physics, and chemistry, each chapter provides up-to-date coverage of both basic and advanced topics and includes extensive references for further study. After discussing the evolution of tribology in the micro and nano world, the book describes contact conditions spanning between macroscale and nanoscale contacts. It presents an overview of fundamental continuum treatments of interfacial contact and lubrication under a wide range of conditions, including novel advances in contact simulation. It also gives a thorough account of the nature of surface energies and forces in nanostructures as well as adhesion in dry and wet environments. The book then explains how to perform friction measurements at the nanoscale and interpret friction data before demonstrating how micro- and nanotextured surfaces affect adhesion, friction, and wetting. The final chapters emphasize the importance of surface chemistry and molecular dynamics simulation in tribology. With numerous examples and figures throughout, this volume presents a thorough account of important advancements in tribology that offer insight into micro- and nanoscale phenomena. By enabling a better understanding of fundamental micro- and nanoscale interactions, the book helps readers effectively design and fabricate durable tribological components for various engineering and biological systems.

Two key words for mechanical engineering in the future are Micro and Intelligence. It is weIl known that the leadership in the intelligence technology is a marter of vital importance for the future status of industrial society, and thus national research projects for intelligent materials, structures and machines have started not only in advanced countries, but also in developing countries. Materials and structures which have self-sensing, diagnosis and actuating systems, are called intelligent or smart, and are of growing research interest in the world. In this situation, the IUT AM symposium on Dynamics 0/ Advanced Materials and Smart Structures was a timely one. Smart materials and structures are those equipped with sensors and actuators to achieve their designed performance in achanging environment. They have complex structural properties and mechanical responses. Many engineering problems, such as interface and edge phenomena, mechanical and electro-magnetic interaction/coupling and sensing, actuating and control techniques, arise in the development ofintelligent structures. Due to the multi-disciplinary nature ofthese problems, all ofthe classical sciences and technologies, such as applied mathematics, material science, solid and fluid mechanics, control techniques and others must be assembled and used to solve them. IUTAM weIl understands the importance ofthis emerging technology. An IUTAM symposium on Smart Structures and Structronic Systems (Chaired by U.

Insects have much to offer when it comes to designing engineering solutions to problems, whether for robotics, aeronautics, computing or materials science. Insect Mechanics and Control, the first book ever published on this topic, bringing together world experts working at the interface between entomology, engineering and physics to showcase the exciting research in this rapidly growing field. The authors, applied mathematicians, physicists or quantitative biologists, provide coverage of their subjects in a way that uses the minimum necessary technical detail, making the subject accessible to biologists and their students who are not expert in the field. The book in turn provides a valuable compendium of biological information for physical scientists, thus promoting interchange between the biological and physical sciences. * Covers important problems in mechanics and control, by reference to extraordinary and fascinating insect examples * Written by experts, physicists, applied mathematicians and quantitative biologists * Offers a biological inspiration to physical scientists, from MEMS design to robotics * Provides a compelling example of integrative biology