Teaching Adhesive Bonding in Mechanical Engineering Courses

Abstract

Adhesive bonding is widely implemented in many industries, such as the aerospace, automotive, shipping and railway sectors. The increasing popularity of this technology is linked to the noteworthy benefits related to its application, compared to other traditional joining process, such as welding or mechanical fastening (Kurfess, Producing the modern engineer 19(1):118–123, 2003 [1]). An important factor driving this change is the current European Union climate and energy policy, which has established a target of improving energy efficiency in the European Union by 20% by 2020. To meet these targets, multiple industrial sectors are seeking lighter, stronger, more durable and environmentally friendly multi-material structures, which in practice can only be achieved with adhesive bonding. As the usage of this technique has increased, so has increased the necessity to train qualified professionals, including a larger number of newly qualified engineers with skills in this joining technology (Borges et al., Women in mechanical engineering: a case study of the faculty of engineering of the University of Porto in the last 20 years, 2(1):48–67, 2022 [2]). Adhesive bonding is a truly multidisciplinary field, requiring mastery of fundamental concepts from various scientific disciplines (physics, chemistry and mechanics). This study is focused on understanding the way this technology is approached and taught in Mechanical Engineering courses, comparing different methodologies, pedagogical strategies and syllabus contents. Countries which are members of EURADH were considered in this study. EURADH is a European association which aims to join several national associations dedicated to adhesion technologies, and which aims to disseminate knowledge not only by the scientific community but also to ensure the transfer of knowledge with the industrial community. The top five Mechanical Engineering courses (according to QS World University Rankings, for 2020) in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom were studied.