Moisture durability of four moisture cure urethane adhesives

Abstract

Moisture durability of four low modulus adhesives was examined. The four low modulus adhesives all had the same basic moisture cure polymer but contained different fillers and additives. Hot-dipped galvanized steel was bonded to random fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester and aged in two moisture environments for various durations. Adherend surface wipes included acetone, isopropyl alcohol and a typical surface contamination for galvanized steel (an organic lubricant). Diffusion coefficients, moisture uptake and modulus changes due to moisture environment were determined for the adhesives and the fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP). The moisture cure adhesive with clay and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as fillers (adhesive 252) had the highest retained lap joint strengths. Initially, adhesive 252 had single lap joint strengths of 1.47 ± 0.08 MPa for acetone-wiped joints and 1.39 ± 0.33 MPa for organic lubricant-wiped joints. After accelerated aging in a cataplasma environment for 9 weeks, lap joint strengths fell to 0.61 ± 0.08 MPa for acetone-wiped joints and to 0.65 ± 0.11 MPa for organic lubricant-wiped joints. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) showed that the actual failure locus was through a corroded zinc layer and between the adhesive and the zinc surface after aging. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that the modulus for adhesive 252 dropped from 21.7 to 13.9 MPa after cataplasma aging. From finite element analysis (FEA), this modulus drop corresponded to a drop in normal stress concentration from 0.75 to 0.57, and a drop in shear stress concentration from 1.41 to 1.36 at a point 0.5 mm from the end of the single lap joint overlap.