Relationship between the Structure of Finger Tissue and the Location of Tactile Receptors (2nd Report, Method of Dynamic Contact Analysis and Results for contact between the Finger and Plane Plate)

We calculate the transient dynamic response of the human finger skin and strain energy distribution at the tactile receptors. Especially, we focus on the effect of epidermal ridges on the tactile sensation. First we make a FE (finite element) model using measured geometric and material properties of an actual index finger. Next we show a method of dynamic contact analysis using FEM (finite element method). Then we analyze the contact between the finger with/without the epidermal ridges and a plane plate moved in the tangential direction after indented in the normal direction. We found that Merkel's corpuscles are relatively sensitive for detecting the indentation of the plate. Next, we analyze the contact between the finger and the plane plate moved in the tangential direction at a constant velocity. We found that Meissner's corpuscles are sensitive to detect the vibration due to the stick/slip.