STRUCTURAL BONDING APPLICATIONS FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

摘要

Structural bonding of assemblies using adhesives is a rapidly emerging technology in the transportation industry. This paper examines cases in the automotive industry where adhesives were pre-qualified for structural bonding via laboratory experiments as defined by three leading manufacturers. Most often, the load bearing assemblies are subjected to severe service conditions due to the nature of the application. Test methods involving low-temperature impact and environmental conditioning, flame tests and development of a fast-fixture-time adhesive and accelerated shear tensile cyclic loading, are presented, hence giving an understanding of how adhesives are qualified for various applications. Application evaluations include a Ford bumper, a Mercury dashboard and finally, a direct static and fatigue comparison of a bonded versus a fastened lap-joint showing the bonded assembly was far superior than the fastened assembly.