Why voltage alone cannot explain an adhesive force

Two electroadhesion calculations can use the same voltage and still produce different forces. To compare them meaningfully, voltage must be considered together with geometry, materials and the area over which attraction acts.

A useful first check is also a simple one: are both results forces, or is one a pressure? Millinewtons and megapascals describe different quantities.

The research problem

Peng and colleagues’ 2026 paper investigated strong electroadhesion at low voltage in rough silicon interfaces. Boundary-element contact calculations, associated with Tribology Simulator, resolved the gap geometry. A separate electrostatic calculation converted gaps into local fields and integrated attraction over noncontact regions. Read the Physical Review Research paper.

The mechanical loading used in the calculation was inferred from friction and included the adhesion-related contribution; it was not simply the same external load at every voltage. Oxide-layer assumptions also entered the electrical model.

Interpreting the headline result

The paper’s force comparison is in mN. Its pressure approaching 100 MPa uses a microscopic nominal area. These are not contradictory statements: pressure is force divided by area.

The simple symmetric electrical model also did not explain the observed polarity asymmetry. The authors discussed charge trapping as an additional mechanism. See the published paper and figures.

What to compare when reproducing electroadhesion

Before interpreting a mismatch as a solver error, prepare a like-for-like input record:

• The actual surface maps, physical dimensions and height units.
• The mechanical loading convention and contact mask.
• The dielectric model and the integration region.
• Whether the reported output is total force or a defined average pressure.

Plotting the reconstructed surfaces and gap map alongside the force result makes the comparison easier to audit. Matching only a roughness statistic leaves the spatial geometry unspecified.

What this means for TriboSolver users

This research explains why topography-resolved contact analysis can be valuable for electroadhesion. It does not establish that every rough surface generates the same force, or that the current release reproduces the paper without its inputs.

Discuss an electroadhesion study or explore TriboSolver access options.