Adhesion of Styrene-Butadiene and Silicons Elastomers to Rigid Substrates at Quasi-Equilibrium

Abstract

Abstract Adhesion threshold values for elastomers (SBR or silicone) in contact with rigid substrates (glass or polycarbonate) are obtained from the Johnson, Kendall and Roberts' test. The energy WF involved in the formation of the contact at quasi-equilibrium shows no significant effect of the molecular weight of the elastomer. Moreover, WF is of the same order of magnitude as the reversible energy of adhesion WO. On the contrary, the energy WR at quasi-equilibrium after forced contact depends on the molecular weight between crosslinks. However, the dependence is not universal for the different elastomers considered. It has not yet been possible to find the characteristics of the network which are responsible for the observed behaviours