The study of adhesion failure of wall tiles

Abstract

This paper summarizes some of the important findings from a research project designed to study the various causes of why adhesion of wall tiles fails. The findings from this study indicated the importance of the environmental effects on the performance of tile adhesive. The selection of the appropriate tile adhesive for outdoor applications where the adhesive will be subjected to thermal and moisture movements needs careful consideration. It was found that the effect of temperature during application on the development of bond strength is significant. The storage temperature was also found to play an important role in the bond strength development although not as marked. The effect of thermal and moisture induced movements of the tile on adhesive strength was also found to be significant. Among the four types of adhesives tested in this study, it was found that adhesive with approximately 50% of the water replaced by a polymer latex has the most consistent performance in the achievement of bond strength. Adhesive with 100% of the water replaced by a polymer latex was found to dry up too rapidly to allow sufficient time for the adhesive to interact with the substrate at the adhesive/substrate interface. The results reflect the importance of a proper mix design especially when work has to be carried out in hot and dry weather. This report resulted with some recommendations for the achievement of a good bond strength when using tile adhesive under severe environmental conditions.