Bonding of a viscoelastic periodic rough surface to a rigid layer

A theoretical analysis is performed for the study of the bonding of a viscoelastic rough surface to a rigid substrate. The mechanics of contact and adhesion are studied with the Dugdale-Barenblatt model for surface interaction. Exact solutions are obtained for arbitrary surface profiles and loading histories. Detailed solutions are given for a power-law viscoelastic material. This solution is used to determine the time for the self-bonding of surfaces (solid sintering under zero load). The time to self-bonding is shown to be extremely sensitive to the aspect ratio of the asperities. A closed form expression is derived for the time needed to achieve full contact when the surfaces are compressed with a load that increases linearly with time. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.