Adhesive and Surface Preparation Evaluation for Stainless Steel Used in Electrical Assemblies

摘要

Adhesive bonding provides an alternate method for attachment of electrical and electronic devices to structural support frames and castings. It can save space and weight. A nitrile-epoxy film adhesive was selected for use because of its strength, high peel resistance and low (85 sup 0 C) cure temperature. By mechanical and analytical testing, it was shown that adhesive could be cured at a low (85 sup 0 C) temperature; however, the cure time must be increased to obtain a sufficiently high (>90 sup 0 C) glass transition temperature. Absorbed atmospheric moisture will influence shear strength and adhesion. Conditioning in flowing dry nitrogen to remove moisture for too long a time may reduce adhesion (peel) because of possible loss of butyl glycidyl ether, a diluent, which results in less adhesive flow and wetting during cure. Wet blasting and dry air plasma treatment are two surface preparation methods for obtaining high shear strength and adhesion results with cohesive failure. (ERA citation 11:051194)