Effect of Wetting Liquids on the Strength of Adhesion of Viscoelastic Material

TLDR

The thermodynamic work inefficiency term in viscoelastic adhesives depends strongly on peel rate and temperature. The study found that peel strength of a lightly crosslinked rubbery adhesive on Mylar exceeds the thermodynamic work of detachment but is reduced by alcohols and alcohol/water mixtures in line with calculated reduction factors, with overall strength determined by a large inefficiency factor, and noted anomalously low adhesion at low peel rates for certain liquids due to swelling and smaller‑than‑predicted effects for others.

Abstract

Abstract Abstract The effect of a variety of wetting liquids on the resistance to peeling separation for a lightly crosslinked rubbery adhesive in contact with a Mylar substrate has been studied over a wide range of peeling rates and at two temperatures. Although the magnitude of the peel strength is much greater than the thermodynamic work of detachment, it is reduced by alcohols and alcohol/water mixtures in good agreement with calculated reduction factors. It is concluded that the measured strength is a product of two terms: the thermodynamic work, and a numerical factor, generally large, denoting inefficiency. The latter term is strongly dependent on peel rate and temperature for viscoelastic adhesives. Two anomalies are pointed out: particularly low adhesion is observed at low rates of peel for certain liquids, attributed to swelling of the adhesive, and smaller effects are found for some other liquids than predicted.