Author(s)

D. Vallet & M. Barquins

Abstract

Adhesive contact and kinetics of adherence of a rigid conical punch on an elastic half-space (natural rubber) D. Vallet, M. Barquins Laboratoire de Physique et Mecanique des Milieux Heterogenes, Espci, France Abstract The equilibrium contact of a rigid conical punch, applied against the flat and smooth surface of a soft elastomer sample (unfilled natural rubber), is studied with help of fracture mechanics concepts which can easily be introduced in this class of problems by using Sneddon's solution (1965) of Boussinesq's problem extended to all axisymmetric adhesive punches with a convex profile as a cone. The kinetics of adherence is measured when an imposed tensile force is applied in order to disturb the size of the contact area. Variations of the strain energy release rate G and of the associated dissipation function <& = (G - w)/w, where w is the Dupre energy of adhesion, are studied as a function of the crack propagation speed V at the interface between a cone made of PM

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