The effect of surface roughness on the adhesion of elastic solids

We study the influence of surface roughness on the adhesion of elastic solids. Most real surfaces have roughness on many different length scales, and this fact is taken into account in our analysis. We consider in detail the case when the surface roughness can be described as a self-affine fractal, and show that when the fractal dimension D-f > 2.5, the adhesion force may vanish, or be at least strongly reduced. We consider the block-substrate pull-off force as a function of roughness, and find a partial detachment transition preceding a full detachment one. The theory is in good qualitative agreement with experimental data. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.