ABSTRACT
Clearly, high-strength adhesives are growing rapidly in sales volume and in acceptance by progressively larger segments of industry. This chapter provides an updated overview of today’s state of the art in structural adhesives. Information on older, obsolete adhesive types has been eliminated, and new information has been added on the current generations of epoxy, acrylic, urethane, and other adhesives which are growing in usage volume. Few of the many types of liquid adhesives in commercial usage can be classified as structural adhesives for the permanent bonding of metals and other rigid adherends. The chapter considers the most important types of paste and liquid structural adhesives, based on epoxy, urethane, acrylic, or polyvinyl chloride resins. Urethanes are the best current-adhesive choice. But the automotive industry is unable to comply with the Moca-TDI handling restrictions. This has resulted in the development of an important new family of polyol-cured urethane structural adhesives”.
