Zihao Du
杜子豪
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D. in Mechanics, Zhejiang University | B.Eng., Hohai University
zihaodu@zju.edu.cnAbout
Dr. Zihao Du is a Postdoctoral Fellow specializing in interfacial adhesion and fracture mechanics. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanics from Zhejiang University and was a visiting Ph.D. researcher at Nanyang Technological University, where he worked with Prof. K. Jimmy Hsia.
His research combines analytical mechanics, cohesive-zone modeling, finite-element simulation, and experiments to understand shear detachment in dissimilar elastic systems. His recent work develops scaling laws and mechanics-guided design principles for fibrillar adhesives, and dissimilar bonded systems.
Research Interests
Education
Ph.D. in Mechanics
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Visiting Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
B.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics
Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Selected Research Projects
Cross-Scale Mechanics and Scaling of Fibrillar Shear Adhesion
2020 – 2026Lead Researcher
Developed a compliance-based framework connecting global structural deformation to shear-detachment strength across thin-film, thick-block, and slender-beam regimes.
- Coupled Timoshenko beam theory with the Griffith criterion to derive aspect-ratio-dependent adhesion scaling laws.
- Validated the framework using finite-element simulations and systematic shear-detachment experiments.
- Separated geometric and modulus effects from changes in interfacial bonding in switchable hydrogel adhesives.
Nonmonotonic Modulus Dependence and Edge Detachment in Shear Adhesion
2023 – 2026Lead Researcher
Established a local fracture framework for finite-height adhesives bonded to elastic substrates, retaining finite modulus contrast and cohesive-zone effects at bimaterial corners.
- Explained why stiffening may either enhance or weaken adhesion through competition between deformation suppression and corner stress amplification.
- Combined asymptotic analysis, cohesive-zone modeling, finite-element calibration, and experiments across six adhesive materials.
- Produced an adhesion phase diagram for material selection, robust attachment, and on-demand release.
Geometry-Modulus Design of Soft-on-Stiff Bonded Systems
2024 – PresentLead Researcher
Investigates how adhesive height, bonded length, and modulus contrast jointly govern load transfer and edge-initiated shear detachment.
- Introduced a load-transfer factor spanning broad aspect-ratio and modulus-contrast ranges.
- Derived limiting power laws and verified them with finite-element simulations and PDMS-acrylic experiments.
- Developed geometry-modulus design maps for dissimilar elastic adhesive systems.
Publications
Published Papers
Du Z, Kong L, Bao R, Gao H*, Chen W*, and Linghu C*, Why Shear Adhesion Is Not Monotonically Enhanced by Stiffening.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2026, 123: e2610914123
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2610914123Fu R, Xiao C, Du Z, et al., Switchable Supramolecular Adhesive by Tuning Interfacial Bonding and Modulus.
Advanced Functional Materials, 2026, 36: e23966
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202523966Linghu C#*, Du Z#, Sun Y, Chen W, and Hsia K J*, On Shear Adhesion of Adhesive Fibrils.
Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2023, 64: 102092
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.2023.102092Manuscripts in Preparation
Zihao Du a, Ronghao Bao a, Weiqiu Chen a, Changhong LINGHU b,*, Interplay of Geometry and Modulus Contrast in Shear Detachment of Soft-on-Stiff Bonded Systems.