Elevated-Temperature Curing Liquid and Paste Epoxy Adhesives

ELEVATED-TEMPERATURE CURING LIQUID AND PASTE EPOXY ADHESIVES 

Heat curing epoxy systems may consist of one or two components. The nomenclature is similar to that employed with the room temperature curing adhesives (e.g., resin component, curing agent component, 2Ksystem, etc.). Many heat curing epoxy adhesives systems are liquids or pastes. However, heat curing systems also can be processed into solid adhesive forms (e.g., powders and films). This chapter describes the paste and liquid formulations solid adhesive forms are considered separately in Chap. 13. 

Several important factors must be considered relative to the elevated temperatures that are required to cure these adhesives. The curing temperature and time specified represent the temperature and time that the adhesive film actually experiences. For example, if a cure of 60 min at 150°C is recommended, this does not mean that the assembly should be simply placed in a 150°C oven for 60 min. The temperature is to be measured at the adhesive within the joint. A large assembly will act as a heat sink and may require substantial time for an adhesive within the joint to reach the necessary temperature. In this example, 

Copyright 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. 

TABLE 12.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Elevated-Temperature Curing Epoxy Adhesives 

---