Finished Adhesives and Sealants - Articles - Page 495

Fire-Retardant Adhesives

This article examines the external events that have led to greater awareness of adhesives’ performance in the event of a fire, the standards and regulations that are being imposed, and the development of new fire-resistant materials.

Edward M. Petrie

November 1, 2007

Historically, fire resistance has not generally been a significant requirement when specifying adhesive systems. Recent incidents, however, indicate that this may soon change. These include events outside of the formulators’ arena, such as increased sensitivity to the performance of components in a fire, and events within the formulators’ arena, such as the development of flame-resistant additives.

Product Profile

Butyl Rubber: A Primer

What is butyl rubber and how is it used?

October 1, 2007

Butyl rubber is a copolymer of isobutylene and isoprene. Simple copolymers are known as “regular” or “clear” butyl rubber, or simply “butyl.” When butyl rubbers are modified after polymerization with the halogens bromine or chlorine, a second family, known as halobutyl rubber (or halobutyls), results.

Biodegradable Polymers in Adhesive Systems

Many biodegradable polymers are suited for adhesive applications, such as environmentally friendly packaging, recyclable envelope adhesives and biomedical devices.

Edward M. Petrie

June 1, 2007

Significant advances have been made over the past 20 years in the development of biodegradable polymers. These materials have been developed in a variety of forms, and thus have potential use in a range of industries, including adhesives.

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?