Investigations on the effectiveness of cyanoacrylate adhesive for repair of fibre-reinforced polymer laminates under different environmental conditions

Abstract

This article presents the results of an experimental study on the long-term durability of delaminated glass fibre-reinforced polyester composites that have been repaired using a rubber toughened cyanoacrylate adhesive. While several studies have investigated cyanoacrylate for glass fibre-reinforced polyester repair applications, none has addressed the impact of environmental conditions on bond durability. Glass fibre-reinforced polyester was fabricated in the laboratory and structural damage was induced before application of cyanoacrylate adhesive. Environmental chambers were used to expose the repaired specimens to the following three standard conditions for a duration of 1000 h: dry/wet cycles of salt mist (5% salt), dry/wet non-saline water mist condition (0% salt) and a cold chamber at −20℃. A fourth set were maintained at ambient temperature and pressure and served as the control. Double cantilever beam tests were used to determine the initial peak load for pre- and post-repair specimens. No degradation in the adhesive performance was observed for the specimens exposed to the salt mist and non-saline mist. A decrease in the peak load was observed for those specimens exposed to the cold environment, indicating some reduction in bond strength.