The directed assembly of fumed silica particles can be used to improve the rheology control of structural adhesives.
Line productivity and energy consumption for the modern automotive, transportation, aerospace and wind energy industries increasingly demand parts with lower weight that can also bear higher mechanical stresses. As such, structural joint design has rapidly evolved to meet these conditions. Today’s composite parts require larger joints, thicker bonding gaps, and challenging adhesive bead shapes to deliver optimal adhesion at much higher mechanical stresses in complex deformation modes. These changes, in turn, demand much higher performance from rheology control additives, providing higher yield stresses and faster recovery times from high to low shear, and viscosity stability over long periods of time.