ADHESIVES
ARCH. ALLEN R. BUENAVENTURA
HISTORY OF ADHESIVES
• The original adhesive was developed by the caveman, who made glue out
of animal hides and proteins.
• Water‐based adhesives (also known as PVAc, White Glue or Resin Glue)
were invented in Germany during World War I. It is the key ingredient in
Wood Glue and Elmer's Glue.
• Hot Melt Adhesives (also known as EVA's or Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) were
invented around 1900, and perfected after World War II during the
development of automated packaging lines.
ADHESIVES
• All adhesives either contain polymers,or polymers
are formed within the adhesive bond.
• The development of adhesives has continued over
the centuries to meet the requirements of various
civilisations;but it was not until the industrial
revolution that demands were made for major
advances in adhesive technology.
ADHESIVE
• An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi‐ liquid state
(as used) that adheres or bonds items together.
• Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources
and nearly all are polymer based – most are highly specialized
and formulated.
BASIC PROPERTIES OF ADHESIVES
To function effectively as an adhesive,a materialmust be
capable of two things:
-Wetting the surface to generate intimate contact between the
adhesive and substrate surfaces
-Hardening to generate a cohesively strong solid (Curing by chemical
rxn,solvent loss or cooling)
MODELS FOR ADHESIVE BONDING
The actual mechanism of adhesive attachment is not
properly defined so far.Some of models are:
-Adsorption theory:
Adhesion results from the adsorption of adhesive molecule onto
substrate
THEORIES OF ADHESION
-Mechanical theory:
Adhesion occurs by the filling of micro-cavities within
the substrate by the adhesive formulation.
-Diffusion theory:
Adhesion of polymeric materials is attributed to interpenetration of
chains at the interface
MAJOR TYPES OF ADHESIVES
There are thousands of different adhesives.
They might be divided into three major types:
• thermoplastic adhesives
• thermosetting adhesives
• rubber-resin blends
THERMOPLASTIC ADHESIVES
• They are fusible, soluble and poor heat and creep
resistant. They are normally used for low load assemblies
under gentle service conditions
THERMOSETTING ADHESIVES
• They are essentially infusible, insoluble and show good
creep resistance. They are used for high load assemblies
and severe service conditions such as heat, cold,
radiation etc.
RUBBER-RESIN BLENDS
• They are, as the name indicates,
rubbers and resins mixed together
in order to obtain combinations of
desired properties.
SOME IMPORTANT ADHESIVES
• Anaerobics
• Cyanoacrylates
• Toughened Acrylics
• Epoxies
• Polyurethanes
• Silicones
• Phenolics
• Polyimides
• Hot Melts
• Plastisols
• Polyvinyl Acetate (PVAs)
• Pressure-sensitive Adhesives
ANAEROBICS
• Anaerobic adhesives cure when in contact with metal, and the air is
excluded, e.g. when a bolt is home in a thread. They are often
known as "locking compounds", being used to secure, seal and
retain turned, threaded, or similarly close fitting parts. They are
based on synthetic acrylic resins.
ACRYLIC BASED ADHESIVES
Advantages: They are cross- linkable and
deliver good resistance to varying
temperature ranges, chemicals, ultraviolet
light and oxidation. They are very color
stable and can be easily removed and
reinstalled in the application if done
incorrectly.
Disadvantages: Generally, acrylic based
PSAs have poor adhesion to polyolefins.
The initial bond or tack strength of acrylic
adhesive is low.
CYANOACRYLATES
Cyanoacrylate adhesives cure
through reaction with moisture held
on the surface to be bonded.
They need close fitting joints and
usually solidify in seconds.
Cyanoacrylates are suited to small
plastic parts and to rubber. They
are a special type of acrylic resin.
TOUGHENED ACRYLICS
Toughened acrylics are fast curing and offer
high strength and toughness. Both one and
two part systems are available. In two part
systems, no mixing is required because the
adhesive is applied to one substrate, the
activator to the second substrate, and the
substrates joined. They tolerate minimal
surface preparation and bond well to a wide
range of materials.
EPOXIES
• Epoxy adhesives consist of an epoxy
resin plus a hardener. They allow great
versatility in formulation since there are
many resins and many different
hardeners. Epoxy adhesives can be
used to join most materials. These
materials have good strength, do not
produce volatiles during curing, and
have low shrinkage.
POLYURETHANES
Polyurethane adhesives are chemically reactive
formulations that may be one or two part systems
and are usually fast curing. They provide strong
resilient joints which are impact resistant and have
better low temperature strength than any other
adhesive. Polyurethanes are useful for bonding glass
fibre reinforced plastics (GRP).
SILICONES
Silicones are not very strong
adhesives, but are known for their
flexibility and high temperature
resistance. They are often used as
bath and shower sealants. Their
adhesion to surfaces is only fair but
like their flexibility, their durability is
excellent.
PHENOLICS
• Phenolics were the first adhesives
for metals and have a long history
of successful use for joining metal
to metal and metal to wood. They
require heat and pressure for the
curing process.
POLYIMIDES
Polyimide adhesives are based
on synthetic organic chains.
They are available as liquids or
films, but are expensive and
difficult to handle. Polyimides
are superior to most other
adhesive types with regard to
long term strength retention at
elevated temperatures.
APPLICATIONS
Protective Films: Acrylic/Polyester,
Silicone/Polyester
Heat Activated Dry Films
Plating Tapes:Crosslinked
silicone
Splicing Tapes
Building Components
Furniture
Footwear
Doors and Millwork
Masking tapes
Aerospace Speciality Products
ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
TYPES OF ADHESIVES
• Structural adhesives
• Epoxies
• Acrylics
• Polyurethanes
• Silicones
• MS polymers
• Instant adhesives
• Cyanoacrylates
• Light cure
• Machinery adhesives
• Anaerobics
• Bulk adhesives
• Hot melt adhesives
ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
TYPES OF ADHESIVES
Structural Adhesives
Silane Modified
Epoxies Acrylics Polyurethane Polymers
Silicones
• Rigid bonding • Rigid to slightly • Slightly flexible • Flexible bonding • Flexible bonding
flexible bonding bonding
• 1- or 2-component • 1- or 2-component • 1- or 2-component
solution • 2-component • 1- or 2-component - solution solution
solution solution
• Excellent gap filling • Wide primerless • Outstanding
• Very high strength • Excellent gap filling adhesion on many temperature and
• Very high strength (2C) substrates UV resistance
• For small surfaces
• For small to • High strength • High impact • Excellent chemical
medium surface • Good chemical strength resistance
resistance • For medium to large
• Outstanding surfaces • Good UV and • Non-paintable
chemical weather resistance
resistance • Good chemical
resistance • Paintable
ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
TYPES OF ADHESIVES
Machinery Bulk
Instant Adhesives
Adhesives Adhesives
Cyanoacrylates Light Cure Anaerobics Hot Melts
• Small Part • Small Part • Small Part • Range of Part
Bonding Bonding Bonding Sizes
• Fast fixturing • Fast fixturing • 1-component • Fast setting
• 1-component • 1-component • Room temp cure • 1-component
• Room temp cure • Room temp cure • Ideal for metal • Heated applicator
cylindrical parts required
• Excellent for • Excellent for
plastic & rubber plastic & rubber • Rigid bondline • Cure into
thermoplastic
• Rigid bondline • Rigid bondline • High Shear resins, except
• High shear & • High shear & PURs
• Low peel
tensile tensile • Wide range of
• Low peel & impact • Low peel & impact products
Adhesives Science 101
Adhesion and cohesion
Adhesion
Cohesion
Adhesion
ADHESIVES SCIENCE 101
ADHESION
Ability to bond to the surface
• Depends on:
• Surface energy
• Surface roughness
• Surface contamination
• Surface wetability
Reliable adhesion needs reliable surface conditions and a liquid
adhesive.
ADHESIVES SCIENCE 101
IMPORTANCE OF CLEANING
Adhesives bond to the surface
Substrate 1
Contaminant
Substrate 2
Adhesive molecule Adhesion Cohesion
Any contaminants reduce bonding strength
ADHESIVES SCIENCE 101
SURFACE WETTING NECESSARY FOR GOOD ADHESION
• Limited contact • Optimum contact
• Liquid stays off the surface • Liquid smoothes onto the surface
The liquid adhesive has to be in optimum contact to the surface
through surface preparation, e.g. cleaning, pre-treatment
ADHESIVES SCIENCE 101
COHESION ACHIEVED BY POLYMER-BUILDING
Liquid Solid
Cohesion needs proper cure of the adhesive
JOINT DESIGN GUIDELINES
LOADS IN ADHESIVE JOINTS
Shear Compression Tensile
Cleavage Peel
JOINT DESIGN GUIDELINES
LOADS IN ADHESIVE JOINTS
Shear Compression Tensile
Entire bond area used for load transmission
JOINT DESIGN GUIDELINES
LOADS IN ADHESIVE JOINTS
Cleavage on rigid parts Peel on flexible parts Zipper
Bond area only partly used for load transmission
JOINT DESIGN GUIDELINES
FAILURE MODES
Adhesion failure Adhesion/cohesion failure
Cohesion failure Substrate failure
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
SHEAR JOINT
Alternatives
Simple strap butt joint Butt joint
Double overlap
Bevelled joint
Shouldered double strap butt joint Double strap butt joint
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
T-PEEL JOINT
Pure peel force Stiffening
Tensile / peel forces Transformation into tensile & pressure forces
Roll and peel forces Transformation into
tensile shear forces
