Dynamic adhesion response of elastomers with square and circular cross-sections

The dynamic adhesion performance of adhesive materials has drawn a lot of attention. Under dynamic adhesion, there is a competition between two types of indicators: the force-related indicators (pull-off force P_c and work of adhesion W_ad) and the holding-adhesion indicators (delamination time T_c and impulse of adhesion I_ad). The dynamic adhesion response of these four key parameters of square and circular cross-section elastomers will be examined in this research. Based on the correlation between the work of adhesion per unit area and the crack propagation rate, as well as the similarity of the delamination processes at various pulling speeds, the theoretical power function relationship between the above four adhesion parameters and pulling speed v_pull is derived: P_c ∝ v_pull^n/(2+n), W_ad ∝ v_pull^2n/(2+n), T_c ∝ v_pull^-2/(2+n), I_ad ∝ v_pull^(n-2)/(2+n). Here, n is the exponential of the crack propagation rate in the Gent-Schultz law, reflecting the energy dissipation during the elastomer’s dynamic adhesion. The above theoretical power function relationship successfully describes the experimental results of elastomers with circular and square cross-sections, including center and edge delamination modes. Furthermore, a conservative prediction of the maximum speed for unconstrained dynamic adhesion is given based on the relationship between I_ad and v_pull. These findings are expected to provide theoretical insights to guide the dynamic application of adhesive materials.