APPLICATION OF THE BLISTER TEST TO THE STUDY OF POLYMER POLYMER ADHESION

This article demonstrates the use of the blister test for measuring the fracture energy, G(a), of the interface between two incompatible polymers. We describe an apparatus in which a fluid was injected at constant rate at the interface between a solid, glassy polymer, and a thin rubbery overcoating to create a "blister." The fluid pressure and blister geometry were measured as functions of time. An energy balance analysis reveals three independent methods for the calculation of G(a) from the data. The method was applied to the system of polyisoprene/poly(methylmethacrylate). We used a sequential debonding procedure to obtain reproducible data following the theoretical predictions. The self-consistency of the data suggested that the adhesion energy could be calculated reliably from the pressure alone, without using the blister geometry.