Bio-Inspired Riblet Structures on Hyperelastic FKM Sheets: A Simulation-Guided Process-Window Screening for...

V-shaped riblets are widely studied shark-skin-inspired microstructures, but their continuous high-fidelity replication on soft hyperelastic substrates remains challenging because large substrate deformation complicates complete profile filling. This study establishes an Abaqus-based finite-element process-window and morphology-screening method for roll-to-roll (R2R) hot embossing of 100 μm-scale V-shaped riblets on a fluoroelastomer (FKM) sheet as a model hyperelastic substrate. A Yeoh hyperelastic law calibrated from room-temperature uniaxial tension was implemented in a three-dimensional large-deformation contact simulation. Embossing temperature T and imposed nip-compression depth D were examined as screening variables, with formed riblet height, filling ratio, and auxiliary field indicators used to evaluate the forming response. The simulated filling ratio increased from about 69% to 76% as T increased from 120 to 180 °C and from about 39% to 76% as D increased from 60 to 120 μm, indicating that nip-compression depth exerted the stronger geometric control over profile filling. R2R hot embossing experiments and laser-confocal profilometry evaluated the retained riblet morphology. For the 160 °C D-series, the measured retained morphology followed the simulated filling trend, with a filling-ratio RMSE of 3.09 percentage points and top-width RMSE of 2.01 μm. The integrated numerical-experimental framework provides an experimentally supported manufacturing basis for process-window selection and retained-morphology control in the R2R hot embossing of riblet-textured hyperelastic sheets.