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