Contact angles and adhesive bonding

The starting point of this paper is the measurement of the surface tension of a liquid. It then considers how the surface tension, or surface free energy, of a liquid can be split into polar and dispersive components, and how these same components can be obtained for a solid surface by the measurement of contact angles. The final step in the argument is the derivation of equations for the thermodynamic work of adhesion in dry conditions and in the presence of a liquid. Examples from the literature show that this approach can predict the durability of adhesive bonds in the presence of water.