Study of the Anti-fingerprint Function: Effect of Some Texture Properties on the Finger Contact Area

摘要

Recently, anti-fingerprint surfaces have attracted wide attention due to their self-clean and esthetic performances. The surface texture is a determinant parameter that governs such properties. In this paper, the anti-fingerprint function of microstructured surfaces has been investigated. We have studied the effect of some topographic parameters on the mechanical behavior of the finger contact. Our analysis is mainly focused on the effect of the pitch value and the aspect ratio of the surface patterns on the anti-fingerprint function. A numerical approach has been employed to model dry contacts between the human fingertip and differently microstructured surfaces. The fingertip was modeled taking into account the topography of the finger skin (finger ridges) and the mechanical properties of the finger tissues. Results indicate that the pitch value has a critical effect on the anti-fingerprint function particularly for low aspect ratio surfaces. This highlights the relevance of the texture properties on the surface functionality.