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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Standard Test Method ASTM D 7998-19 for the Cohesive Strength Development of Wood Adhesives
Published on: May 17, 2020
Origin of adhesion in humid air
Doo-In Kim1, Jaroslaw Grobelny, Namboodiri Pradeep
1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. dooin.kim@nist.gov
Abstract:
The origin of adhesion in humid air is investigated by pull-off force measurements between nanoscale contacts using atomic force microscopes in controlled environments from ultrahigh vacuum through various humidity conditions to water. An equivalent work of adhesion (WOA) model with a simplified interface stress distribution is developed, combining the effects of screened van der Waals and meniscus forces, which describes adhesion in humid air and which self-consistently treats the contact stress and deformation. Although the pull-off force is found to vary significantly with humidity, the equivalent WOA is found to be invariant. Increasing humidity alters the nature of the surface adhesion from a compliant contact with a localized, intense meniscus force to a stiff contact with an extended, weak meniscus force.
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