Relationship Between Large Amplitude Oscillatory Strain (LAOS) Experiments and Commercial Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Applications Testing

Historically, analytical test methods on pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA’s) have shown poor correlation to applications test results. Since applications tests such as peel and shear involve large deformations of the adhesive, large amplitude oscillatory strain (LAOS) experiments may correlate more strongly to the applications test results than typical linear viscoelastic measurements. Here we report the applications and characterization results on nine different commercial PSA films. The primary applications test results are 90° stainless steel peel and stainless steel shear. Based on these results, the adhesives were classified as “tape”, “label”, or “removable”, with three samples in each category. The adhesives were characterized analytically by large amplitude oscillatory strain (LAOS) tests. The various LAOS parameters appear correlated to the applications peel and shear results indicating LAOS may provide a better indication of applications performance in a more efficient way than existing applications test protocols.