Patterned Adhesive Core for Damage-Free Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing peelable adhesive products often fail to work effectively on painted and rough surfaces, such as drywall, due to low shear strength, which can result in substrate damage during removal, and require thick constructions that increase the risk of damage.
Innovation Solution
The development of an adhesive article with a discrete core between two peelable adhesive layers, featuring an arranged pattern of recesses on the core surfaces, which reduces the contribution of the backing to the peel force, allowing for higher shear strength and damage-free removal from various surfaces, including delicate and textured surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If existing peelable adhesive products are used on painted and rough surfaces, then they can be removed without damage, but they exhibit low shear strength and cannot hold significant weight
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive article employs a composite construction consisting of a porous foam core layer combined with adhesive layers. The foam core provides structural support and shear strength, while the adhesive layers provide bonding capability. This composite structure enables the product to maintain both high shear strength for weight bearing and reliable adhesion for holding capability, resolving the contradiction between strength and reliability.
2Strength
If the adhesive article construction is made thicker to increase shear strength, then holding capability improves, but the potential for substrate damage during removal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive article features a patterned adhesive layer with adhesive-rich regions and adhesive-poor regions (or release regions). The adhesive-rich areas provide strong bonding for weight bearing, while the adhesive-poor areas create weak points that initiate clean delamination during removal. This local variation in adhesive quality allows the thick construction to maintain shear strength without increasing substrate damage risk, as the controlled weak points ensure clean release.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive layer is segmented into multiple functional zones: adhesive-rich regions for strong bonding and adhesive-poor or release regions for controlled delamination. This segmentation allows the thick adhesive article to provide sufficient shear strength through the adhesive-rich areas while ensuring damage-free removal through the release regions that facilitate clean separation from the substrate.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If soft elastic backings are used to reduce peel force, then damage-free removal is achieved, but the ability to hold weight and shear strength is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive article uses a composite structure with a foam core layer providing structural support and shear strength, combined with adhesive layers for bonding. The foam core acts as a rigid or semi-rigid support element that maintains the article's shape and provides mechanical strength for weight bearing, while the adhesive layers provide bonding and controlled release capabilities. This composite approach eliminates the need for soft elastic backings, achieving both damage-free removal and adequate holding capability.
4Reliability
If existing adhesive products are formulated for strong adhesion, then they can hold weight, but they cause visible damage on delicate surfaces like paper and drywall during removal
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive layer incorporates localized variations in adhesive content, with adhesive-rich regions providing strong bonding for weight bearing and adhesive-poor or release regions creating controlled weak points. During removal, these adhesive-poor regions initiate clean delamination, preventing the adhesive from pulling away substrate material. This local quality differentiation allows the product to maintain reliable holding capability while achieving damage-free removal from delicate surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive-poor regions or release areas are pre-positioned within the adhesive layer structure before application. These pre-formed weak points are designed to initiate controlled delamination during removal, ensuring that the adhesive fails in a controlled manner away from the substrate surface. This preliminary arrangement of weak points prevents visible damage on delicate surfaces while maintaining strong holding capability through the adhesive-rich regions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides adhesive articles that can be removed from surfaces without damage by having reduced or eliminated contribution of a core backing to peel force generated by the adhesive during removal. In some instances, this can be accomplished by a core that loses structural integrity in a direction normal to a plane defined by a major surface. In other instances, the contribution is reduced by compromising the interface between the core and a peelable adhesive layer.