Components of Flexible Suction Cup

Suction Cup Prototype - not to actual scale

The figure above shows the proposed flexible suction cup to be applied on wet/dry/even/uneven surfaces. The basic material to construct this flexible suction cup is silicon. At the mouth of the flexible suction, there is a layer of nano-sized silicon-made hair which mimics the microvilli on the suction area of the Pleco fish or the Cling fish. Silicon is the chosen material to construct this device due to its high adaptability towards high temperature as well as low cost. In addition, using silicon as the construction material makes it more flexible to adapt to various conditions. The usage of silicon makes the suction cup to be more resistant to wear and tear which makes it to have a longer lifetime. The large surface area of the suction cup allows it to have a better contact area for better suction power. It is believed by the team that the proposed design would become a huge difference in providing high suction power for various applications on wet/dry/even/uneven surfaces.

Currently, our team proposed to use suction force to lift sunken object at the sea bed such part from crashed aircraft, ship or submarine during the war time. The proposal of suction would replace the usage of hooks in the current underwater crane which have small surface area at the point of attachment. On the other hand, the new crane proposed by our team will provide a larger surface area which can distribute the stress of the load instead of focusing the load at a single point like the case of the hook.