Analysis of Critical Debonding Pressures of Stressed Thin Films in the Blister Test

This paper reports a model for the relationship between critical debonding pressures and the work of adhesion of thin films in the blister test. Previous models have neglected the possible role of residual stresses in the film on the critical pressure. The model reported here shows that these stresses may have a large effect on the relation between the critical pressure and the work of adhesion. A similar model is developed for an alternative blister geometry, the annular or “island” blister. It is shown that films which cannot be peeled using the standard blister test (due to exceeding the tensile strength limit of the film before initiating a debond) can be peeled by varying the geometric parameters of the island blister.