Soft and Hard Adhesion |
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Authors: | Jun Young Chung |
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Affiliation: | Department of Chemical Engineering , Lehigh University , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA |
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Abstract: | The force needed to pull a cylindrical stud from a soft elastomeric film depends on their elastic and geometric properties. For a rigid stud and a thick elastomeric film, the pull-off stress (σ) depends on the elastic modulus (E) of the film and the radius (a) of the stud as σ ~ (E/a)1/2 (soft adhesion). However, when the film is very thin, the pull-off stress is significantly higher than the case with thick films, and its value depends on the elastic modulus and the thickness (h) of the film as σ ~ (E/h)1/2 (hard adhesion). Here, we study the pull-off behavior of a soft cylindrical stud, one flat end of which is coated with a high modulus thin baseplate. As the flexural rigidity of this baseplate is varied, we observe the transition between the two types of adhesion. We present a simple physical interpretation of the problem, which could be of value in understanding various biofouling and adhesive situations. |
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Keywords: | Adhesion Adhesion of plates Biofouling Elastomer adhesion Mechanics of adhesion Pull-off test Silicone release coatings |
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