Using the peel test to measure the work of adhesion in a confined elastic film

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The authors present theoretical and experimental work in an effort to characterize the strength of adhesion forces between a thin elastomeric film bonded to a rigid surface and a flexible plate. The peel test is used to measure the adhesive forces: a spacer of known height is slipped between the flexible plate and the rigid surface, such that a crack forms between the adhesive and the flexible plate. The height of the spacer (<math> \Delta </math>) and the length of the crack (a) is used with other parameters to quantify the strength of the adhesive force, as a stronger adhesive should correspond to a shorter crack. The authors examine the limits of perfect adhesion and of perfect slippage.

General Information

Keywords: surface force, peel test, adhesion

Authors: Animangsu Ghatak, L. Mahadevan, and Manoj K. Chaudhury.

Date: June 19, 2004.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015

Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Langmuir 21, 1277-81. [1]