Finished Adhesives and Sealants - Articles - Page 493

Safety First: Safe Handling of Adhesives and Sealants

While cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe, care must be taken with airborne particles, decomposition products, and uncured components.

Edward M. Petrie

March 1, 2007

Completely cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe and non-toxic, although caution must be exercised when machining or grinding joints due to airborne particles. Also, decomposition products may exhibit substantial vapor pressures that present health and safety issues. However, it is exposure to uncured components that can be the most harmful, and that is the subject of this article.

How Sealants Function

How do the application and performance characteristics of sealants correlate to the composition of the sealant formulation?

Edward M. Petrie

February 27, 2006

Sealants are generally chosen for their ability to fill gaps, resist relative movement of the substrates, and exclude or contain another material. Sealants are generally lower in strength than adhesives, but have better flexibility. Usually, a sealant must effectively bond to a substrate in order to perform these functions.

Adhering to Difficult Substrates with Silicone Adhesives

Substrates with reactive groups available for bonding make chemical bonding easier to achieve, while substrates with nothing to react to make adhesion difficult.

October 1, 2005

Adhesive technology is equal parts chemistry and "black magic." The sheer number of available substrates makes it nearly impossible to test each adhesive on every type. However, by conducting tests on a selection of novel, or difficult-to-adhere-to, substrates, we can make inferences that may help narrow the choice of adhesives.

Manufacturing Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Products: A Coating and Laminating Process

How are pressure-sensitive adhesives made?

April 1, 2005

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are a combination of several materials that come together to form a "construction." A PSA construction is a combination of layers including a facestock (label) or backing (tape), an optional primer coat, an adhesive, and a silicone release coating on a protective liner. The PSA construction—whether a label, tape or transfer adhesive—is manufactured through several coating and laminating steps, including liner-release coating, adhesive coating/drying/curing, optional facestock or backing primer coating, and lamination of the facestock or backing to the liner.

Epoxy, Acrylic, and Urethane Structural Adhesives

Increasing alternatives to mechanical fastening are available.

September 1, 2004

With ongoing advances in structural adhesive formulation, designers in every industry have increasing alternatives to mechanical fasteners for assembly of metal, composites, plastics, rubber, glass and more.

TRA-CON: Epoxy Adhesive

June 1, 2004

Tra-Con has introduced new TRA-BOND 342-3.5ACC, an epoxy adhesive specifically designed for applications with significant thermal shock.

The Use of Silicone Adhesives in Space Applications

Every single design consideration—including the adhesives selected—is important in the costly endeavor to send an object into space.

October 28, 2003

The harsh conditions of space place a set of constraints on the technologies that take us there. Of primary concern when it comes to space system design is the adhesive chosen to hold everything together. What does it take to perform in the vacuum of space, and why do silicone adhesives continue to be the adhesive of choice in many aerospace applications?

Polychloroprene Contact Adhesives

Water-based adhesive systems make inroads into traditional solventborne technology.

March 4, 2003

Contact adhesives based on polychloroprene exhibit performance advantages over alternative adhesive systems in a variety of related applications where quick, high-strength, permanent bonds are needed.

An Overview of Emulsion Polymers Used in the Adhesives Industry

Demand for adhesive emulsions is forecast to expand 4.4 percent per year to 2.3 million metric tons in 2005.

Paul Ita

June 30, 2002

In 2000, demand for emulsion polymers in the global adhesives industry totaled 1.9 million metric tons (dry basis), valued at $3.4 billion.

Understanding Viscoelastic Damping and Treatments Using Typical Adhesive Materials

Analytical tools are now available to engineers and product designers challenged with the task of reducing the radiated noise and vibration levels of structures.

Paul J. Macioce

May 29, 2002

The radiated noise and vibration characteristics of manufactured goods are a common concern for most product designers as they strive to provide products that are "whisper quiet."