Creep Prediction of Adhesive Joints

As the use of adhesive bonding increases in structural automotive applications, concerns specific to this bonding method need to be addressed. One such concern is the potential of the bulk adhesive to creep under load at elevated temperature. This paper describes a technique whereby long term performance (> 10 year) can be predicted using data developed within weeks using a solids analyzer and time-temperature superpositioning techniques.

Three epoxy adhesives are evaluated for creep performance at 93.3°C (200°F) and 2.07mpa (300 psi). With the same data, other stresses and temperatures could be calculated. The technique developed demonstrates excellent differentiation among the materials.