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Topic · Mechanics of Materials

Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions

Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions is a research topic within Mechanics of Materials. Science Explorer counts 38k research works in it since 1950. 17.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the mechanics of gecko foot adhesion, including the study of van der Waals forces, surface roughness, contact mechanics, and the development of biomimetic adhesives. It explores the nanoscale structures, frictional properties, and hierarchical designs inspired by gecko feet for potential applications in various fields.

  • Gecko
  • Adhesion
  • Friction
  • Contact Mechanics
  • Biomimetic
  • Nanotubes
  • Surface Roughness
  • Elastic-Plastic Contact Analysis
  • Microstructures
  • Bioinspired
Research works
38k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
6.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+3%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (2k and 524 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 2k works
  2. 2 United States 524 works
  3. 3 Germany 308 works
  4. 4 Japan 256 works
  5. 5 India 228 works
  6. 6 France 180 works
  7. 7 United Kingdom 173 works
  8. 8 South Korea 124 works
  9. 9 Italy 122 works
  10. 10 Russia 117 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 50.1%United States: 12.9%Germany: 7.6%Japan: 6.3%6 others listed: 23.2%50%largest
China2,038 · 50.1%United States524 · 12.9%Germany308 · 7.6%Japan256 · 6.3%6 others listed944 · 23.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Xi'an Jiaotong University publishes the most Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research, followed by Tsinghua University and Harbin Institute of Technology.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 67 works
  2. 2 Tsinghua UniversityChina 56 works
  3. 3 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 47 works
  4. 4 Southwest Jiaotong UniversityChina 44 works
  5. 5 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 44 works
  6. 6 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsChina 43 works
  7. 7 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 36 works
  8. 8 Chongqing UniversityChina 35 works
  9. 9 Tianjin UniversityChina 31 works
  10. 10 Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityChina 30 works

Where is Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research done?

The largest centres of Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Xi'an (China), Shanghai (China) and Nanjing (China).

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 348 works
  2. 2 Xi'an China 150 works
  3. 3 Shanghai China 128 works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 114 works
  5. 5 Chengdu China 82 works
  6. 6 Wuhan China 82 works
  7. 7 Harbin China 79 works
  8. 8 Tokyo Japan 79 works
  9. 9 Hangzhou China 69 works
  10. 10 Tianjin China 61 works
See Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions on the map

Where is the best place to study Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions?

Among universities, judged by research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Southwest Jiaotong University and Northeastern University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 19.39%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Xi'an Jiaotong University: 67, 21.8%Southwest Jiaotong University: 44, 18.1%Northeastern University: 24, 27.0%Tsinghua University: 56, 23.9%Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics: 43, 12.4%Chongqing University: 35, 19.1%Polytechnic University of Bari: 13, 19.7%Rzeszów University of Technology: 9, 16.1%Harbin Institute of Technology: 47, 18.9%Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel: 13, 16.9%Northeastern Univers…Tsinghua UniversityXi'an Jiaotong Unive…Southwest Jiaotong U…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 68.021.8%8.5×67 +51.3%
2 Southwest Jiaotong UniversityChina 63.218.1%11.6×44 +32.3%
3 Northeastern UniversityChina 59.127.0%5.6×24 +133.6%
4 Tsinghua UniversityChina 57.123.9%5.8×56 -5.6%
5 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsChina 56.912.4%9.9×43 +23.7%
6 Chongqing UniversityChina 53.019.1%6.6×35 +32.5%
7 Polytechnic University of BariItaly 52.319.7%21.4×13 -7.6%
8 Rzeszów University of TechnologyPoland 52.316.1%19.5×9 +122.0%
9 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 51.518.9%5.9×47 +8.4%
10 Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielGermany 50.916.9%11.8×13 -7.1%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 3% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2022. The fastest-growing topics are Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.