Equilibrium states and stability of pre-tensioned adhesive tapes

In the present paper we propose a generalization of the model developed in Afferrante, L.; Carbone, G.; Demelio, G.; Pugno, N. Tribol. Lett. 2013, 52, 439–447 to take into account the effect of the pre-tension in the tape. A detailed analysis of the peeling process shows the existence of two possible detachment regimes: one being stable and the other being unstable, depending on the initial configuration of the tape. In the stability region, as the peeling process advances, the peeling angle reaches a limiting value, which only depends on the geometry, on the elastic modulus of the tape and on the surface energy of adhesion. Vice versa, in the unstable region, depending on the initial conditions of the system, the tape can evolve towards a state of complete detachment or fail before reaching a state of equilibrium with complete adhesion. We find that the presence of pre-tension in the tape does not modify the stability behavior of the system, but significantly affects the pull-off force which can be sustained by the tape before complete detachment. Moreover, above a critical value of the pre-tension, which depends on the surface energy of adhesion, the tape will tend to spontaneously detach from the substrate. In this case, an external force is necessary to avoid spontaneous detachment and make the tape adhering to the substrate.