Journal Published Online: 10 January 2015
Volume 44, Issue 3

Effect of Low Temperature on Tensile Strength and Mode I Fracture Energy of a Room Temperature Vulcanizing Silicone Adhesive

CODEN: JTEVAB

Abstract

Aerospace applications have an increasing demand for strong and reliable adhesives, able to withstand large temperature gradients. The variation of the adhesive’s mechanical properties with temperature is therefore one of the factors that must be well understood before safe and reliable adhesive joints can be designed for these applications. The stress–strain curve and the toughness properties of an adhesive show strong dependency with temperature for most adhesives, especially near the glass transition temperature (Tg). In this work, an experimental procedure is undertaken to evaluate the effect of low temperatures on the adhesive strength and mode I fracture toughness of a room temperature vulcanizing silicone (RTV) adhesive. Firstly, the temperature at which the glass transition of the RTV occurs was obtained by means of an in-house developed measurement apparatus. Bulk specimens were manufactured and tested at temperatures above and below the Tg in order to obtain a strength envelope of the adhesive over this large temperature range. Single lap joints were also manufactured with this adhesive to assess the behaviour of the adhesive when assembled in a complete joint. For the determination of pure mode I fracture toughness, double cantilever beam specimens were also tested at negative temperatures near Tg. The results showed that the failure loads of all the tests performed have strong temperature dependence and this must be taken into account during adhesive joint design using this type of adhesives.

Author Information

Marques, E.
Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica (IDMEC), Porto, PT
Banea, M.
Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica (IDMEC), Porto, PT
da Silva, Lucas
Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PT
Carbas, R.
Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica (IDMEC), Porto, PT
Sato, C.
Precision and Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Midori-ku, Yokohama, JP
Pages: 10
Price: $25.00
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Stock #: JTE20140208
ISSN: 0090-3973
DOI: 10.1520/JTE20140208