Elastic Fracture Mechanics of the Peel-Test Geometry

The results of a linear-elastic analysis to determine the phase angle at the tip of an interface crack in the peel test are presented in this paper. The phase angle is fairly insensitive to the peel angle and, when the film and substrate have identical elastic properties, the mode-I and mode-II components of the crack-tip stress field are approximately equal. The phase angle has some dependence on both the elastic mismatch and the applied force; it is very sensitive to any residual strains in the film.