Shaft-loaded blister peeling test of hyperelastic membranes on the rigid substrate

The localized out-of-plane loading applied to a membrane adhered to a rigid substrate will cause the membrane deformation and peeling, leading to the formation of a blister. The elastic modulus and adhesive strength of the membrane can be quantitatively determined from the height and radius of the blister. This axisymmetric membrane blister, known as shaft-loaded blister test, is widely used to evaluate the modulus and interfacial properties of 2D materials and biological membranes. This work investigates the shaft-loaded blister peeling behavior (indentation peeling or pull-to-peel) of hyperelastic membranes on a rigid substrate. Based on nonlinearly elastic theory, a theoretical model of hyperelastic membrane deformation under localized loading is derived, and the relationship between strain energy and the geometric configuration of the membrane is established. The interfacial energy release rate is obtained using the energy method. A nearly linear relationship between vertical displacement and peeling radius is observed. Furthermore, the relationship between the interfacial energy release rate G and the ratio of blister height to peeling radius Z̄ is established. It has been found that as Z̄ increases, the power-law deviates from the linearly elastic case of G∝Z̄⁴. These results broaden the applicability of the shaft-loaded blister test method for evaluating the interfacial properties of nonlinear membranes.