Aerospace structures adhesives chemistries

In the following sections/ we shall discuss adhesion chemistry/ adhesion physics / radiation-curable adhesiveS/ high-temperature adhesiveS/ anaerobic and structural adhesiveS/ hot-melt adhesives/ film adhesiyes/ waterborne adhesives/ aerospace structural adhesiveS/ conventional sealants/ advanced aerospace sealants/ and adhesives and sealants for solar collectors. 

David A. Wangsness obtained his B.A. in Chemistry from Luther College in Iowa in 1961 and attended graduate school at the University of North Dakota in 1962. He joined 3M in 1962 as a Chemist and worked on the development of aerospace structural adhesives. Presently, he is Manager of the Aerospace Products Laboratory at 3M. 

In this brief review, we have attempted to demonstrate the importance of chemistry to the developments of new (or new forms of) adhesive materials. Much success has been achieved in the syntheses of polymers for aerospace adhesives and sealants. New or modified structural adhesives have been developed with improved mechanical properties and durability. However, there is still room for innovation for developing new adhesive materials for use under severe environments. 

Carl J. Aimer joined 3M in 1957. He obtained a Bachelor of Chemistry degree from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology in 1964. His current work is in the area of structural adhesive films for the aerospace industry. 

The third section devotes itself to an in-depth examination of the structural bonded joint the substrates, primers and the structural adhesives themselves. In this last area, a full appraisal is made of a typical range of commercially available structural adhesives. This examines their role in the bonded structure, the formats in which they are supplied, the basic chemistries employed with their relative cure cycles and generic formulations. This is augmented with key properties of selected adhesives from this range and a typical qualification package generated for one adhesive to meet typical aerospace specifications. The section concludes with brief outlines as to how the adhesives are made, how they are applied to the substrates to be bonded and file methods by which they can be cnred. 

In order to eomplement their knowledge, the engineers who work with structural materials in automotive, aerospace, bonding of metals, plastics, and composites should also, of course, read the chapters Design and calculation of bonded parts , Physics and chemistry of adhesion , Surface preparation before bonding , Metal bonding , Bonding composites , and also Epoxy adhesives , Application equipment , etc. 

This means, therefore, that the chemistries associated with the primers could be as varied as the adhesives used with them. In aerospace applications, however, the predominant surface protection primer chemistries, for structural bonding, are those based on epoxy phenolic-, polyimide- and polyurethane-based primers are also encountered. 

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