What is peel adhesion?

I noticed "peel adhesion" on the data sheets of two of the tapes I am considering purchasing. What does this testing method show?

Peel adhesion is the relative adhesion to a surface. Results of this test are surface dependant and are heavily influenced by the testing angle, usually 90 degrees or 180 degrees.

Most of the time you will see "peel adhesion to stainless steel-180 degrees" on a data sheet. This means the tape was adhered to stainless steel, a substrate with polar surface energy. The tape will then be pulled off at 180 degrees. The force required to remove the tape is the peel adhesion and usually stated in onces per inch.

You need to consider the surface energy of the substrate you plan on adhering your product to when looking at peel adhesion. The results will not be the same for something more or less polar.

Open Cell versus Closed Cell Foam Tapes

What is the difference between open cell foam tapes and closed cell foam tapes?

Gary Smith of Budnick Converting, Inc. took the time out to offer a basic breakdown of the two types of foams.

"Open cell foams have an open cell structure that allows particulate, air, water, etc. to pass through from one cell to another. Whereas, closed cell foams have encapsulated or closed cell structures that prevent passage from one cell to the next.

Open cell foams are typically used to separate component panels where material separation is needed to prevent vibration, provide a thermal barrier and protect against particulate contamination, but a degree of airflow is still needed. An example of this might be in electronic components where air flow is needed to keep components cool.

Closed cell foams are typically used as gasketing materials where the application requires that air, moisture and other particulate not pass through the gasket. Typically, compressing the gasket material 25-30% with constant pressure prevents particulate or moisture from flanking around the gasket.

Micro cellular products like some polyurethane materials now offer a hybrid between the open and closed cell structures."