Adhesives

Overview

Adhesives have been an integral part of many fields of engineering including automotive and aerospace. In civil and structural engineering adhesives have traditionally been less frequently used, among others due to the inherent conservatism of the field. However, in recent years the use of adhesives in structural engineering is gaining popularity ranging from strengthening applications (FRP on concrete), to post-installed anchorage as part of rehabilitations (adhesive anchors) to novel applications such as in bonding of structural glass and facades, e.g. to metals or to concrete.

 

Activities

Research activities include

  • Early-age properties of thermoset structural adhesives;
  • Chemical shrinkage of particle filled adhesives;
  • Cure-dependent visco-elastic models for structural adhesives;
  • Mode I and II fracture properties as function of curing state;
  • Long-term hygro-thermal stability of adhesives;
  • Rate-dependent damage-plasticity models for particle filled adhesives;
  • Multi-physics computational framework;
  • Ageing and compatibility of adhesives;
  • Development of novel applications for structural adhesive bonds

 chemicalshrinkage.png

Fig Chemical shrinkage supported by digital image correlation

long-termstability.png

Fig: long-term stability at controlled RH (salt solution) and T combinations

innovativedetermination.png

Fig: Innovative determination of cure-dependent storage and loss modulus using Anton-Paar Rheometer

tensiletestondogbone.PNG

Fig: tensile test on dogbone supported by DIC; uniaxial compressive tests

abaqustoolchain.PNG

Fig: Abaqus tool-chain for multi-physics analysis of particle filled thermosets by the example of a post-installed adhesive anchor

 

 

Contact

Prof. Roman Wan-Wendner

Prof. Jan Belis

Projects

Research Projects Adhesives