Peeling of Elastic Tapes: Effects of Large Deformations, Pre-Straining, and of a Peel-Zone Model

Abstract

A peel model for non-linear elastic tapes is presented which accounts for large deformations and for pre-straining. The large deformation setting is a new feature of modelling, which would be of interest for applications related to soft polymers and tissues. The conditions for having quasistatic-steady debonding or dynamic catastrophic debonding are determined in terms of the loading variables (peel angle and peeling force). The decohesion energy associated with a given process-zone model is included in the formulation of the peeling model. The predictions of various decohesion laws are discussed with respect to experimental results in the literature. Finally, the adhesion of a gecko is analysed and the maximum adhesion force of a single spatula is evaluated. The result correlates well with the maximum experimental pulling force reported in the literature for a gecko's seta.