title: The speed of an inclined ruck.
abstract: Steady rucks in an elastic beam can roll at constant speed down an inclined plane. We examine the dynamics of these travelling-wave structures and argue that their speed can be dictated by a combination of the physical conditions arising in the vicinity of the 'contact points' where the beam is peeled off the underlying plane and stuck back down. We provide three detailed models for the contact dynamics: viscoelastic fracture, a thermodynamic model for bond formation and detachment and adhesion mediated by a thin liquid film. The results are compared with experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics , University of British Columbia , 1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z2.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Balmforth
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics , Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Craster
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Institute , University of Oxford , Oxford OX2 6GG, UK.
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Hewitt
keywords: adhesion; elastic beam; peeling