Polymer—Aluminium Adhesion IV. Kinetic Aspect of the Effect of a Liquid Environment

Abstract The effect of a liquid in the failure of an assembly depends strongly on the ability of the liquid to follow the fracture front. Thus, the existence of a critical rate of separation above which the liquid has no effect on the strength of the assembly, has been clearly demonstrated. From a crack model, parameters determining the penetration rate of the liquid in the growing fracture have been established and are: —the viscosity of the liquid —its surface energy —and the solid/liquid interactions. This analysis also shows that the dimension of the crack opening is of the order of a micron.