Viscoelastic crack healing and adhesion

Closing cracks in viscoelastic materials are analyzed using a cohesive zone model. The analysis is relevant to the bonding of surfaces of viscoelastic materials, and in particular to the Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR) experiment. A crack bonding theory due to Schapery is extended to include the case of the standard linear solid material, and some consequences of this material’s finite long time compliance are illustrated. The stress field behind a steadily closing crack in a standard linear solid is also investigated in detail. Finally, a method for applying Schapery’s crack bonding theory to the analysis of a JKR-type experiment involving viscoelastic cylinders is given explicitly.