SURF-2 – Adhesion Module
The Adhesion Tester is a high-precision instrument for characterizing adhesive interactions between materials. It accurately measures pull-off force, work of adhesion, and shear adhesion, providing valuable insights into surface and interface performance.
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Adhesion Tester
Rtec Instruments Adhesion Tester is a turn-key solution to measure pull up adhesion force, work of adhesion, and shear adhesion of materials. Equipped with ultra-sensitive capacitance load cells, this tester provides µN level resolution with forces up to 5 N. Study the effect of texture and other surface modifications using the high-resolution sensors. In addition, the sensors can characterize large samples over macroscopic length scales. Furthermore, the Adhesion Tester comes integrated with a high-resolution inverted camera, allowing researchers to measure the Contact Area vs. Normal Force. This is useful in measuring the adhesion of soft materials, biomimetics, and hydrogels. The tester is available as a standalone instrument or installed on the MFT-5000 Multi Function tribometer and Indentation and Scratch Tester SMT-5000 platforms.
Contact Area Evolution Under Increasing Normal Load
The sequence of optical images illustrates the progressive increase in contact area between the probe and the sample as the applied normal load increases. Captured by the integrated high-resolution camera, these images enable precise measurement of the contact interface throughout the test. Monitoring contact area evolution provides valuable insight into adhesion behavior, surface deformation, and material response, supporting accurate evaluation of work of adhesion and interfacial properties.
| Down Force | 0.1 mN to 5 N |
| Shear Force | 0.1 mN to 5 N |
| Pull up Force | 0.1 mN to 5 N |
| Low Floor Noise (RMS) | 0.1 µN |
| Displacement Resolution | 1 µm |
| Speed | 0.01 mm/s to 5 mm/s |
