New experimental results show that the tack energy of a nonstringing rubber adhesive is proportional to the square function of the contact area. However, this area seems only to be controlled by the contact force and the thickness of the adhesive. A study of how the contact area depends on physical parameters is of great interest for the modeling of the tack properties of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). With this objective, we give a mechanical analysis of the tack test in the framework of elasticity. This analysis leads to an analytical expression of force versus thickness of material that is in agreement with the experimental data. Based on this mechanical analysis, a model is proposed to take into account the dependence of the contact area with the contact force and the adhesive thickness. This model is based on the idea that, in confined geometry, the adhesive behaves like an elastic solid and the contact area is a function of the elastic squeeze deformation close to the probe surface. The confrontation with experimental results is good and shows the relevance of this approach. Finally, the model underlines the importance of the roughness, the thickness and the Young's modulus of the adhesive according to the experimental results. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)70947-0]. [References: 19]
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