Peeling adhesion regime transition of elastic tapes

Peeling phenomena are frequently observed in nature and in various applications, including wearables, heterogeneous integration, and 2D materials fabrication. Adhesion plays a critical role in the peeling process. The standard 90-degree peeling test is widely used to measure interfacial adhesion. However, a comprehensive mechanical understanding of the transition across different adhesion regimes—energy-controlled, intermediate, and strength-dominated—remains incomplete. Although many previous theoretical models have discussed these regimes individually, a unified solution with systematic experimental validation across the entire regime spectrum is yet to be obtained. Here we systematically investigate the 90-degree peeling of elastic tapes with varying bending stiffness from rigid substrates through a combination of theoretical analysis, experiments, and finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. A general and explicit expression for the peak peeling force is formulated, capturing the full spectrum of adhesion regimes and predicting the peak force as well as the transition points accurately. The theoretical results exhibit good agreement with experimental measurements and FEA simulations across all three regimes. This study provides a unified solution to the 90-degree peeling process and a practical guideline for the design and evaluation of 90-degree peeling adhesion behavior of elastic tapes. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.