Peeling of a tape with large deformations and frictional sliding

Abstract An analytical model of peeling of an elastic tape from a substrate is presented for large deformations and scenarios where sliding occurs in the adhered regions, with this motion resisted by interfacial shear tractions. Two geometries are considered: the first has a detached segment of the tape forming the shape of an inverted letter ‘V’ between adhered sections (double-sided peeling), and the second has a free end of the tape being pulled (single-sided peeling). The mechanics of peeling is analyzed in terms of the applied force, displacement of the load point and the angle that the peeled tape makes with the substrate. Formulae are provided for the energy released per unit area of peeling that explicitly and separately account for the work done by frictional sliding. Assuming that peeling occurs when the energy released per unit area equals the work of separation for purely normal separation, it is shown that the critical force to propagate peeling can be significantly higher with sliding as compared to pure sticking. Similarly, due to frictional dissipation, the amount of work done by the applied force needed to propagate peeling can be significantly greater than the work of separation. For the single-sided peel test, an effective mixed-mode interface toughness is presented to be used with purely sticking models when sliding is not explicitly modeled: the closed-form result closely mirrors common empirical forms used to predict mixed-mode delamination.