Summary
We study the mammalian whisker-object contact problem by applying the Kirchhoff rod theory. We analyse equilibria of a thin intrinsically curved elastic rod clamped at one end and touching a flat rigid wall, which is arbitrarily positioned and oriented in space. We distinguish four qualitatively different configuration types: 1) tip contact, 2) single point tangential contact, 3) two-point contact (the tip and a tangential point), 4) tip and interval contact. We present a series of diagrams revealing an arrangement of domains of those different contact types in a parameter space.
