The ultratough peeling of elastic tapes from viscoelastic substrates

The peeling of an elastic thin tape from a flat smooth viscoelastic substrate is investigated. Based on a Green function approach and on the translational invariance, a closed form analytical solution is proposed, which takes into account the viscoelastic dissipation in the substrate material.We find that peeling is prevented from taking place, only when the external force is smaller than the one predicted by Kendall's formula for elastic tapes on rigid substrates. However, we also find that, regardless of the value of the applied force, steady state detachment may occur when the elastic tape is sufficiently stiff. In this case, the constant peeling velocity can be modulated by properly defining the geometrical parameters and the material properties of tape and viscoelastic foundation. On the other hand, for relatively high peeling angles or compliant tapes a threshold value of the peeling force is found, above which the steady-state equilibrium is no longer possible and unstable detachment occurs.The present study contributes to shed light on the behavior of pressure sensitive adhesives in contact with viscoelastic substrates like the human skin. At the same time, it can be considered a first step towards a better understanding of the effect of viscoelastic dissipation on the fracture behavior of solids.     

Analytical Model and Experimental Verification of the Interfacial Peeling Strength of Electrodes

Background

The interfacial peeling strength of lithium-ion battery electrodes is a very important mechanical property that significantly affects the electrochemical performance of battery cells.

Objective

To characterize the interfacial peeling strength of an electrode, an analytical model based on the energy balance principle is established by considering the state of charge (SOC), the energy release rate, the tensile stiffness, and the peeling angle.

Methods

Uniaxial tensile tests and 180-degree peeling tests are conducted to determine the Young’s modulus and the interfacial peeling strengths of electrodes at different SOCs, respectively. The experimental data serve as a validation of the accuracy of the analytical model.

Results

The interfacial peeling strength of the electrode shows a strong reliance on many factors. Specifically, the interfacial peeling strength increases with the SOC and the energy release, and decreases with the peeling angle. When the tensile stiffness of the active layer equals that of the current collector, the interfacial peeling strength has a maximum value.

Conclusions

By comparing with experimental data of the 180-degree peeling test, the model prediction shows excellent agreement at different SOCs, and the analytical model established in this paper can be used to guide and assess the interfacial properties of electrodes for industry.

     

Adhesion of heterogeneous thin films II: Adhesive heterogeneity

This paper continues the study of the effective adhesion of thin films on rigid substrates in the presence of spatial heterogeneities started in Xia et al. (2013). In this paper, we focus on thin adhesive tape with spatial heterogeneity in the adhesive strength. This heterogeneity leads to a wavy peel front and consequently a complex corrugated shape in the tape. We develop a theory for the evolution of the peel front that accounts for this complex interaction, and an experimental method that is able to examine this in detail. We show through theory and experimentation that spatial patterning of the adhesive strength can lead to a very rich range of behaviors in the effective adhesive strength. In particular we show that adhesive heterogeneity can be used to create asymmetry in that the force required to peel the tape in one direction can be different from that in the other.     

Mechanics of adhesive joints

Summary Taking into consideration both the pulling and bending actions of the external force, the differential equations for bending of a partly attached tape in a peeling test have been derived. The equations relating the peeling load to the adhesive force were derived under the assumption that the peeling may proceed step by step from the attached end when the adhesive force is overcome by either the tensile stress along the interface (shearing peeling) or that which is perpendicular to the interface (tensile peeling). To verify the validity of the obtained equations, the dependence of the peeling load P on the angle between the direction of the action of the load and the adhering surface has been investigated using plasticized polymer films. In view of the elementary mechanics, the results were satisfactory, while a modification was attempted by introducing the stress concentration factor.     

Influence of rheology and surface properties in the adhesion of uncross-linked pressure sensitive adhesives

We consider the adhesion of a pressure sensitive adhesive on different substrates (Pyrex, stainless steel, Plexiglas). First, we characterize the rheological properties of the adhesive material and compare it with the predictions of Lodge's model. Then we investigate the adhesive properties using a special machine which enables us to peel at 90° with a fixed peeling front and we construct peeling master curves on different substrates. The mechanisms of peeling are analyzed by looking at the peeling front using a video camera. We realize that the flow within the filaments and ribs observed is mainly of elongational type. Also, by looking at the shape of the backing, we find out that most of the energy is spent within the ribs or filaments.To understand the effect of rheology on adhesion, we propose a simple model to predict peeling curves, by assuming that the flow is mainly of elongational type. This explains the high energy regions. At low velocities, surface energies become important and their effect is also analyzed.To conclude, we propose different dimensionless equations which explain the importance of the relevant parameters, via dimensionless numbers. Thus the peeling energy is investigated, as well as the condition which predicts the transition from cohesive to adhesive peeling.     

Peeling experiments of ductile thin films along ceramic substrates – Critical assessment of analytical models

Two types of peeling experiments are performed in the present research. One is for the Al film/Al₂O₃ substrate system with an adhesive layer between the film and the substrate. The other one is for the Cu film/Al₂O₃ substrate system without adhesive layer between the film and the substrate, and the Cu films are electroplated onto the Al₂O₃ substrates. For the case with adhesive layer, two kinds of adhesives are selected, which are all the mixtures of epoxy and polyimide with mass ratios 1:1.5 and 1:1, respectively. The relationships between energy release rate, the film thickness and the adhesive layer thickness are measured during the steady-state peeling process. The effects of the adhesive layer on the energy release rate are analyzed. Using the experimental results, several analytical criteria for the steady-state peeling based on the bending model and on the two-dimensional finite element analysis model are critically assessed. Through assessment of analytical models, we find that the cohesive zone criterion based on the beam bend model is suitable for a weak interface strength case and it describes a macroscale fracture process zone case, while the two-dimensional finite element model is effective to both the strong interface and weak interface, and it describes a small-scale fracture process zone case.     

Hard-material Adhesion: Which Scales of Roughness Matter?

Background

Surface topography strongly modifies adhesion of hard-material contacts, yet roughness of real surfaces typically exists over many length scales, and it is not clear which of these scales has the strongest effect. Objective: This investigation aims to determine which scales of topography have the strongest effect on macroscopic adhesion.

Methods

Adhesion measurements were performed on technology-relevant diamond coatings of varying roughness using spherical ruby probes that are large enough (0.5-mm-diameter) to sample all length scales of topography. For each material, more than 2000 measurements of pull-off force were performed in order to investigate the magnitude and statistical distribution of adhesion. Using sphere-contact models, the roughness-dependent effective values of work of adhesion were measured, ranging from 0.08 to 7.15 mJ/m² across the four surfaces. The data was more accurately fit using numerical analysis, where an interaction potential was integrated over the AFM-measured topography of all contacting surfaces.

Results

These calculations revealed that consideration of nanometer-scale plasticity in the materials was crucial for a good quantitative fit of the measurements, and the presence of such plasticity was confirmed with AFM measurements of the probe after testing. This analysis enabled the extraction of geometry-independent material parameters; the intrinsic work of adhesion between ruby and diamond was determined to be 46.3 mJ/m². The range of adhesion was 5.6 nm, which is longer than is typically assumed for atomic interactions, but is in agreement with other recent investigations. Finally, the numerical analysis was repeated for the same surfaces but this time with different length-scales of roughness included or filtered out.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate a critical band of length-scales—between 43 nm and 1.8 µm in lateral size—that has the strongest effect on the total adhesive force for these hard, rough contacts.

     

Bending of Soft Micropatterns in Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Tribology

Background

Soft tribology is increasingly important in the design and engineering of materials used in robotics, haptics, and biomechanics studies. When patterned surfaces are part of a lubricated tribopair that undergoes sliding and compressive deformation, the patterns experience a bending strain that affects the lubrication film thickness and elastohydrodynamic friction. The contribution of bending patterns to soft tribology is not well understood because earlier studies focused on hard tribopairs with effectively flat surfaces.

Objective

We investigate and model the differences in lubricated friction for poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) elastomer and PEGDA/alginate double network hydrogel patterns in order to determine the effect of height-to-width aspect ratio and bending angle on the elastohydrodynamic friction.

Methods

Photoresists of two different viscosities are spin coated onto silicon substrates to fabricate molds with pattern heights ranging from 20 μm to 50 μm.

Results

Tribological characterization of the tribopairs in the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime shows that the patterns generate a friction peak that is independent of aspect ratio for short patterns but displays a “power-law fit” decrease with increasing aspect ratio for taller patterns. Two independent models are used to estimate the theoretical bending and deflection angles for the tribopairs.

Conclusions

The decrease in lubricated friction is attributed to taller patterns having large bending angles and a reduced effective surface for fluid load bearing. Results suggest that the bending of micropatterns could be harnessed to engineer lubricated friction in a variety of applications.

     

Experimental and numerical investigations of the deformation of soft materials under tangential loading

The surface ‘tensile test’, in which tangential loads are applied through surface mounted adhesive tapes, is a viable method for the assessment of mechanical properties of soft materials, particularly biological soft materials in vivo. In the present work the deformation pattern and force–displacement relationship in the surface tensile test were experimentally investigated using surface displacement analysis (SDA) and numerically simulated using finite element modelling. The experimental and FE results showed close agreement using silicone rubber as a model material. The force–displacement relationship was found to be dependent on the tape separations. SDA measurements and FE simulation showed that the displacement and strain fields were not uniform and the distribution pattern varies with tape separation. A combined experimental–numerical approach to inversely extract material properties using multiple tests with different length scales is proposed and assessed using a model material.     

A 3D Griffith peeling model to unify and generalize single and double peeling theories

It has been shown in recent years that many species in Nature employ hierarchy and contact splitting as a strategy to enhance the adhesive properties of their attachments. Maximizing the adhesive force is however not the only goal. Many animals can achieve a tunable adhesive force, which allows them to both strongly attach to a surface and easily detach when necessary. Here, we study the adhesive properties of 3D dendritic attachments, which are structures that are widely occurring in nature and which allow to achieve these goals. These structures exploit branching to provide high variability in the geometry, and thus tunability, and contact splitting, to increase the total peeling line and thus the adhesion force. By applying the same principles presented by A.A. Griffith 100 years ago, we derive an analytical model for the detachment forces as a function of their defining angles in 3D space, finding as limit cases 2D double peeling and 1D single peeling. We also develop a numerical model, including a nonlinear elastic constitutive law, for the validation of analytical calculations, allowing additionally to simulate the entire detachment phase, and discuss how geometrical variations influence the adhesive properties of the structure. Finally, we also realize a proof of concept experiment to further validate theoretical/numerical results. Overall, we show how this generalized attachment structure can achieve large variations in its adhesive and mechanical properties, exploiting variations of its geometrical parameters, and thus tunability. The in-depth study of similar basic structural units and their combination can in future lead to a better understanding of the mechanical properties of complex architectures found in Nature.

     

Analysis of Damage and Failure in Anisotropic Ductile Metals Based on Biaxial Experiments with the H-Specimen

Background

Dependence of strength and failure behavior of anisotropic ductile metals on loading direction and on stress state has been indicated by many experiments. To realistically predict safety and lifetime of structures these effects must be taken into account in material models and numerical analysis.

Objective

The influence of stress state and loading direction on damage and failure behavior of the anisotropic aluminum alloy EN AW-2017A is investigated.

Methods

New biaxial experiments and numerical simulations have been performed with the H-specimen under different load ratios. Digital image correlation shows evolution of strain fields and scanning electron microscopy is used to visualize failure modes on fracture surfaces. Corresponding numerical studies predict stress states to explain damage and fracture processes on the micro-scale.

Results

The stress state, the load ratio and the loading direction with respect to the principal axes of anisotropy affect the width and orientation of localized strain fields and the formation of damage mechanisms and fracture modes at the micro-level.

Conclusions

The enhanced experimental program with biaxial tests considering different loading directions and load ratios is suggested for characterization of anisotropic metals.

     

Peeling of an elastic membrane tape adhered to a substrate by a uniform cohesive traction

An analytical model is provided for the peeling of a tape from a surface to which it adheres through cohesive tractions. The tape is considered to be a membrane without bending stiffness and is initially attached everywhere to a flat rigid surface. The tape is assumed to deform in plane strain, and finite deformations in the form of elastic strains are accounted for. The cohesive tractions are taken to be uniform when the tape is within a critical interaction distance from the substrate and then to fall immediately to zero once this critical interaction distance is exceeded. When the distance between the tape and the substrate is zero, repulsive and attractive tractions balance to zero; in this segment, sliding of the tape relative to the substrate is forbidden when we pull the tape up somewhere in the middle, though we permit such sliding when the tape is peeled from one end. In the cohesive zone and where the tape is detached, the interaction of the tape with the substrate is frictionless. Results are given for the force to peel a neo-Hookean tape at any angle up to vertical when one end of it is pulled away from the substrate, as well as for scenarios when the tape is lifted somewhere in the middle to form a V shape being pulled away from the substrate.     

Stretching Graphene to 3.3% Strain Using Formvar-Reinforced Flexible Substrate

Background

As a one-atom-thick material, the mechanical loading of graphene in large scale remains a challenge, and the maximum tensile strain that can be realized is through a flexible substrate, but only with a value of 1.8% due to the weak interfacial stress transfer.

Objective

Aims to illustrate the interface reinforcement brought by formvar resins as a buffering layer between graphene and substrates.

Methods

Single crystal graphene transferred to different substrates, applied with uniaxial stretching to compare the interface strength, and finite element analysis was performed to simulate tensile process for studying the influence of Poisson’s ratio of the buffering layer for interface reinforcement.

Results

In this work we use formvar resins as a buffering layer to achieve a maximum uniaxial tensile strain of 3.3% in graphene, close to the theoretical limit (3.7%) that graphene can achieve by flexible substrate stretching. The interface reinforcement by formvar is significantly higher than that by other polymers, which is attributed to the liquid–solid phase transition of formvar for more conformal interfacial contact and its suitable Poisson’s ratio with graphene to avoid its buckling along the transverse direction.

Conclusions

We believe that these results can provide guidance for the design of substrates and interfaces for graphene loading, as well as the support for mechanics analysis of graphene-based flexible electronic devices.

     

The peel test in experimental adhesive-fracture mechanics

Several test specimens have been proposed for obtaining adhesive-fracture energy, γa, in bond systems. These tests include blister, cone, lap-shear and peel tests. Peel tests have been used for many years to compare relative strengths of different adhesives, different surface-preparation techniques, etc. This paper demonstrates the potential use of peel tests in obtaining γa values. There are several reasons for devloping the peel test for fracture-mechanics work. First, most laboratories have facilities for preparing peel specimens. In addition, the adhesivefracture energy has recently been shown to be a function of loading mode. In peel tests, various combinations of Mode I and Mode II loadings can be applied by varying the peel angle. Peel-test-analysis methods discussed include closed-form solutions for particular peel-specimen geometries loaded with a given force and numerical techniques for general peel-specimen analysis. This paper also points out the difference between debond load and maximum peel load. The debond-load to maximum-load ratio is shown to depend upon adhesive type but independent of load rate over three decades of time for two different adhesive systems tested.     

Application of Laser Deposition to Mechanical Characterization of Advanced High Strength Steels Subject to Non-Proportional Loading

Background

Characterization of hardening and fracture limits of advanced high strength steels (AHSSs) undergoing strain path changes (SPCs) are particularly challenging for plane strain condition, which commonly occurs in sheet metal forming. There is a need for a simple, engineering-friendly method to characterize materials subjected to complex loading paths that mimic stress conditions in actual forming processes.

Objective

Experimental additive manufacturing techniques have been applied to reinforce AHSS specimens subjected to SPCs in order to broaden capabilities for characterizing hardening behavior and fracture limits.

Methods

Hardening curves subject to SPCs (e.g. uniaxial tension or equi-biaxial tension followed by plane strain) have been obtained with a programmable biaxial tensile testing system using cruciform-shaped specimens with load-bearing arms reinforced by laser deposition. A notched specimen selectively reinforced by laser deposition was newly designed to characterize fracture limits subjected to SPCs ending with plane strain condition.

Results

Complex loading histories were successfully enabled by applying laser deposition technology. Results show that both hardening behavior and fracture limits of a TRIP-assisted steel and a dual-phase steel are dependent on loading history.

Conclusions

It appears that the laser deposition technique can be used for material characterization under specific SPCs. Hardening behavior of AHSSs under SPCs ending with plane strain is quite different from traditional uniaxial tension-uniaxial compression tests. For materials sensitive to SPCs, multi-step forming can be a great option to reach the targeted forming shape.

     

Coupling Self-Adaptive Meshing-Based Regularization and Global Image Correlation for Spatially Heterogeneous Deformation Characterization

Background

Image-based global correlation involves a class of ill-posed inverse problems associated with speckle quality and deformation gradients on specimen surfaces. However, the method used to simultaneously integrate the prior information related to images and deformations and effectively regularize these inverse problems still faces severe challenges, especially when complex heterogeneous deformation gradients exist over sample surfaces with locally degraded speckle patterns.

Objective

We propose a novel self-adaptive meshing-based regularization for global image correlation to determine spatially complex heterogeneous deformations.

Methods

A virtual truss system with a linearly elastic constitutive relationship is employed to self-adaptively implement surface meshing by numerically balancing the exerted virtual forces under the constraints of the local speckle image quality and deformation gradients. The 2-norm-based condition number of the local stiffness matrix is introduced to ensure numerical stability during meshing.

Results

The algorithms can behave as a smart regularization procedure integrating all the prior information during numerical calculations, consequently achieving an accurate, precise and robust characterization of heterogeneous deformations, as demonstrated by virtual simulations and actual experiments.

Conclusions

The regularization strategy coupled to image-based correlation is also promising for automatic quantification of complex heterogeneous deformations, particularly from images with locally degraded speckle patterns.

     

Influences of peripherally-cut twisted tape insert on heat transfer and thermal performance characteristics in laminar and turbulent tube flows

Effects of peripherally-cut twisted tape insert on heat transfer, friction loss and thermal performance factor characteristics in a round tube were investigated. Nine different peripherally-cut twisted tapes with constant twist ratio (y/W = 3.0) and different three tape depth ratios (DR = d/W = 0.11, 0.22 and 0.33), each with three different tape width ratios (WR = w/W = 0.11, 0.22 and 0.33) were tested. Besides, one typical twisted tape was also tested for comparison. The measurement of heat transfer rate was conducted under uniform heat flux condition while that of friction factor was performed under isothermal condition. Tests were performed with Reynolds number in a range from 1000 to 20,000, using water as a working fluid. The experimental results revealed that both heat transfer rate and friction factor in the tube equipped with the peripherally-cut twisted tapes were significantly higher than those in the tube fitted with the typical twisted tape and plain tube, especially in the laminar flow regime. The higher turbulence intensity of fluid in the vicinity of the tube wall generated by the peripherally-cut twisted tape compared to that induced by the typical twisted tape is referred as the main reason for achieved results. The obtained results also demonstrated that as the depth ratio increased and width ratio decreased, the heat transfer enhancement increased. Over the range investigated, the peripherally-cut twisted tape enhanced heat transfer rates in term of Nusselt numbers up to 2.6 times (turbulent regime) and 12.8 times (laminar regime) of that in the plain tube. These corresponded to the maximum performance factors of 1.29 (turbulent regime) and 4.88 (laminar regime).     

Fractal Pattern for Multiscale Digital Image Correlation

Background:

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is based on the matching, between reference and deformed state images, of features contained in patterns that are deposited on test sample surfaces. These features are often suitable for a single scale, and there is a current lack of multiscale patterns capable of providing reliable displacement measurements over a wide range of scales.

Objective:

Here, we aim to demonstrate that a pattern based on a fractal (self-affine) surface would make a suitable pattern for multiscale DIC.

Methods:

A method to numerically generate patterns directly from a desired auto-correlation function is introduced. It is then enhanced by a Mean Intensity Gradient (MIG) improvement process based on grey level redistribution. Numerical experiments at multiple scales are performed for two different imposed displacement fields and results for one of the patterns generated are compared with those obtained for a random pattern and a Perlin noise one.

Results:

The proposed pattern is shown to lead to DIC errors comparable to those found with the two others for the first scales, but has much greater robustness. More importantly, the pattern generated here exhibits stable errors and robustness with respect to the scale whereas these two outputs become significantly degraded for the other two patterns as the scale increases.

Conclusions:

As a result, scale invariance properties of the pattern based on fractal surfaces correspond to scale invariance in DIC errors as well. This is of great interest regarding the use of such patterns in multiscale DIC.

     

Scanning-Digital Image Correlation for Moving and Temporally Deformed Surfaces in Scanning Imaging Mode

Background

Images from scanning electron microscopes, transmission electron microscopes and atomic force microscopes have been widely used in digital image correlation methods to obtain accurate full-field deformation profiles of tested objects and investigate the object’s deformation mechanism. However, because of the raster-scanning imaging mode used in microscopic observation equipment, the images obtained from these instruments can only be used for quasi-static displacement measurements; otherwise, spurious displacements and strains may be introduced into the deformation results if these scanning microscopic images are used directly in general digital image correlation calculations for moving and temporally deformed surfaces.

Objective

Realizing kinematic parameter and dynamic deformation measurements on a scanning electron microscope platform.

Methods

Establishing a scanning imaging model of moving and temporally deformed objects that contains motion and deformation equations, a scanning equation and an intensity invariance assumption for small deformations. Then proposing a scanning-digital image correlation (S-DIC) method based on combing the characteristics of the scanning imaging mode with digital image correlation.

Results

Quantitatively investigating the effects of the spurious displacements and strains introduced when using scanning images to represent moving and temporally deformed surfaces in the measurement results. Numerical simulations verify that the accuracy of the S-DIC method is 10^?2pix for the displacement, 10^?4 for the strain, 10^?4pix/s for the velocity and 10^?6s^?1 for the strain rate. Experiments also show that the proposed S-DIC method is effective. Conclusions: The results of this work demonstrate the utility of S-DIC on the field of microscopic dynamic measurement.

     

一种用于金属薄板轴向拉压疲劳试验的防弯夹具

在金属薄板的轴向疲劳S-N曲线测试中,研究将一种侧向防弯曲夹具应用于存在压向载荷的试验。通过粘贴应变片方法测量试样的表面应力,对试样的受力情况做了定量的分析。测量结果表明试样安装防弯曲夹具后,基本消除了由压缩失稳产生的弯曲应力。且通过对不同拧紧方式的测量,表明一定的夹紧力下不对试验力产生影响。试验夹具设计成对试样中心轴线的支撑而让边缘疲劳敏感部位处在非接触状态,试样断口表明疲劳起源在这些并没有与试样接解的部位。用钛和铝两种材料的薄板在不同试验机上进行了不同寿命和频率的试验,试验结果与正应力比试验同时给出以对比,各种研究表明本试验有效解决了薄板疲劳受压时的失稳问题。