Peeling, sliding, pulling and bending

The peeling of an elastic sheet away from thin layer of viscous fluid is a simply-stated and generic problem, that involves complex interactions between the flow and elastic deformation on a range of length scales. Consider an analogue of capillary spreading, where a blister of injected viscous fluid spreads due to tension in the overlying elastic sheet. Here the tension is coupled to the deformation of the sheet, and thus varies in time and space. A key question is whether or not viscous shear stresses ahead of the blister are sufficient to prevent the sheet sliding inwards and relieving the tension. Our asymptotic analysis reveals a dichotomy between fast and slow spreading, and between two-dimensional and axisymmetric spreading. In combination with bending stresses and gravity, which may dominate parts of the flow but not others, there is a plethora of dynamical regimes.