Non-linear double-peeling: Experimental vs. theoretical predictions

ABSTRACT

The double peeling of detachment of non-linear adhesive tapes from a flat Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surface has been investigated from both experimental and theoretical point of view. Double peeling tests show that, as the detachment process advances, the peeling angle stabilizes on a limiting value θ_lim corresponding to a critical pull-off force F_c above which the tape is completely detached from the substrate. This observed behavior is in good agreement with results obtained following the new theory of multiple peeling and taking into account the hardening-softening non-linear behavior of the experimentally tested adhesive tapes and clarifies some aspects of the experimental data. In particular, the theoretical model shows that the value of the limiting peeling angle depends on the geometry of the adhesive tape as well as on the stiffness properties and on the interfacial energy ∆γ. Finally, theoretical predictions confirm that solutions with a peeling angle lower than θ_lim are unstable.

KEYWORDS:

• Adhesion of tapes
• energy release rate
• double-peeling
• thin film peeling

Acknowledgements

N.M.P. is supported by the European Research Council PoC 2015 “Silkene” No. 693670, by the European Commission H2020 under the Graphene Flagship Core 1 No. 696656 (WP14 “Polymer Nanocomposites”) and under the FET Proactive “Neurofibres” No. 732344. DM thanks financial support from the ERC Advanced Grant “Instabilities and nonlocal multiscale modelling of materials” FP7-PEOPLE-IDEAS-ERC-2013-AdG (2014-2019). LA and GC acknowledge Regione Apulia and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research for having supported the research activity within the project TRASFORMA Laboratory Network cod. 28.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

This manuscript has not been published elsewhere, and it has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.