Bendable adhesion: is there a better way of measuring surface energy?

Evaluation of surface energy of microscale elastic objects is typically done by comparing the size of a contact patch with theoretical predictions made by the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory of adhesion. However, since adhesion deformations are localised, this technique requires a precise measurement of microscale distances which may be difficult to obtain. Is there an easier way of mesuring surface energy? Here, we consider the scenario in which a slender microstructure comes into contact with a sphere; although the strains induced by adhesion remain small, the object's slenderness allows for a large and more easily measurable macroscopic deformation. For example, it has been experimentally observed that a microfibre in contact with a particle bends. We model this interaction using a revised JKR theory which includes determining the contact region and the induced bending of the fibre. This formulation reveals the link between adhesion and the easily-measurable deflection angle of the fibre and, in principle, offers an alternative and simple route to measuring surface energy at small scales.