Standard Test Method for Climbing Drum Peel for Adhesives
Theory:
The Climbing Drum Peel testing fixture is designed to test adhesives as they relate to the flexibility of their backing material. Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSA) and other materials such as fabrics and foams are converted together to make a combination product. For example, ULINE makes several types of foam tapes used for shipping packaging. One high tech application is testing composite sandwich structures used for lightweighting in aerospace.
Solution:
The setup of this test requires the adhesive skin to overhang the board or backing material by a few inches. The skin or tape must be wrapped around the drum and then secured in the clamp. Once the drum is secured the board is then pulled up at constant speed and the drum "climbs" along the backing material, delaminating it at a certain force. The width of the sample adhesive is the most important when specifying a new climbing drum fixture.
Like most peel strength tests, the final analysis involves taking an average of the data after removing the beginning and end parts.