Abstract
Normal acrylic-based adhesives that stick to dry surfaces, do not stick to surfaces with a
water film. The water decreases the Hamaker constant, which indicates the strength of the
Van der Waals forces, by a factor 10. The time needed to squeeze out the water by applying
pressure to a label on top of a wet surface, is too long for normal applications. Approaches to
remove, use and penetrate the moisture layer are proposed. This work focuses on proposals
for water removal and this case is analyzed theoretically and tested experimentally. Pores are
needed to transport the water away from the gap between the substrate and the adhesive
layer. We show experimentally that adhesives with pores (50 µm diameter, 1 mm spacing)
have a larger pull-off force on wet surfaces after applying pressure than adhesives without
pores. Theoretical calculations for a 20µm thick adhesive layer of 645 mm2 surface area with
800 holes of 10µm diameter, show that the maximum volume of water retainable in the capillaries
is 1.5 .10 -12 m3. This value is 500 times less than the volume of water squeezed out
when the layer is reduced to 1µm. Therefore pores need to be made through both the adhesive
and film layer where the water can evaporate or an absorbance layer is needed. Alternative
strategies proposed to improve adhesion performance on moist icy surfaces include
addition of polysaccharides, (poly)electrolytes, nanofibres, functionalized superhydrophobic
and superhydrophilic patterns of the adhesive layer
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Workshop Physics with Industry, 17-21 October 2011, Leiden, The Netherlands |
Place of Publication | Utrecht |
Publisher | FOM |
Pages | 3-15 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |