As part of a collaborative project focusing on coatings and joining systems for lightweight materials, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) tasked PPG to develop a high-strength, highly ductile structural adhesive to meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) test method standard MIL-PRF-32662, Tier I-III specification. MIL-PRF-32662 incorporates a decade of rigorous research efforts to statistically correlate the complex ballistic response of adhesively bonded armor assemblies to universally translatable and commercially relevant quasi-static mechanical properties.1
Designed to meet or exceed MIL-PRF-32662, this one-component, epoxy-based thermoset technology is expected to enable the development and manufacturing of personal, vehicle, and aircraft composite armor systems with unparalleled performance in the harshest operating environments. Through innovative materials design, PPG researchers were able to push performance boundaries to achieve high adhesive ductility without sacrificing overall adhesive strength, maximizing the material’s toughness.