Abstract (EN):
Polyolefins are especially difficult to bond due to their non-polar, non-porous and
chemically inert surfaces. Acrylic adhesives used in industry are particularly suited to bond these
materials, including many grades of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), without special
surface preparation. In this work, the tensile strength of single-lap PE and mixed joints bonded with
an acrylic adhesive was investigated. The mixed joints included PE with aluminium (AL) or
carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) substrates. The PE substrates were only cleaned with
isopropanol, which assured cohesive failures. For the PE-CFRP joints, three different surfaces
preparations were employed for the CFRP substrates: cleaning with acetone, abrasion with 100 grit
sand paper and peel-ply finishing. In the PE-AL joints, the AL bonding surfaces were prepared by
the following methods: cleaning with acetone, abrasion with 180 and 320 grit sand papers, grit
blasting and chemical etching with chromic acid. After abrasion of the CFRP and AL substrates, the
surfaces were always cleaned with acetone. The tensile strengths were compared with numerical
results from ABAQUS®
and a mixed-mode (I+II) cohesive damage model. A good agreement was
found between the experimental and numerical results, except for the PE-AL joints, since the AL
surface treatments were not found to be effective.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
No. of pages:
6
License type: