Adhesive properties of random vinyl acetate-butyl acrylate copolymers

Relationships between the peel strength and the composition of an adhesive, vinyl acetate-butyl acrylate copolymer, and its peel rate were studied. It was shown that, as the content of butyl acrylate units in the copolymer increases and the peel rate grows, variations in the peel strength can be described by curves with a maximum and are accompanied by a transition from the cohesive to adhesive character of failure. It was demonstrated that the strength of the tested adhesive joints is characterized by an ultimate failure stress and the peel strength is dependent on the work of deformation of the adhesive layer. A simple procedure for determining the contribution from the work of deformation to the peel strength was suggested.