I.1.

Role of Adhesives
I.2. Characteristics of an Adhesive Joint
I.3. Application Areas of Adhesive Materials

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I.1. Role of Adhesives
 Breaking of a material results in two pieces that do not reform
the initial body, even if the pieces are superposed. Reasons:
1. Surfaces resulted from breaking are strongly uneven = > perfect
superposition is impossible
2. During breaking, besides the two macroscopic parts obtained, a
large number of microscopic fragments are formed
(microscopic but large as compared to the radius of the attraction
forces) => some of these fragments are lost.
3. The surface resulted from breaking will be instantly
contaminated with molecules, ions or atoms from the
environment (usually gases or vapour from the atmosphere).
=> Adhesives are substances used to join two separate pieces.

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Practical examples of adhesion
1. Two sheets of Pt, Pd or Au (inert metals with regard to
chemical contamination), polished until they prove
perfectly plane when examined by electro-microscopy, in
vacuum, placed at a distance < 50 Å => bonding.
2. A vessel is filled with snow and covered with a vertically
gliding lid. A large weight is placed on top of the lid. The
ensemble is maintained at temperatures below 0°C for a
long enough period of time => piece of compact ice is
formed at the bottom of the vessel=>the individual water
crystals that formed the snow have stuck together (have
adhered to one another).
Mechanism: under pressure -> plastic deformation of the crystals ->
increase of the contact surface. + melting of a small quantity of ice ->
filling the gaps between crystals -> freezing -> formation of a
compact layer + heat elimination -> melting of another amount of
ice, and so on. (The equivalent natural phenomenon -> glaciers
formations)
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Practical examples of adhesion
3. Two sheets of lead are superposed and pressed together
(102-103 kgf/cm2 )for a long enough period of time (days or
weeks) => single piece of metal.
Mechanism: plastic deformation of the metal under the influence
of the compression effort => the levelling of the superficial
asperities => contact at microscopic scale. Bonding is due to the
"fluidisation" of the superficial layers of the two pieces in
contact.
4. A steel cylinder piece A is pressed
with a normal force N upon a steel
plane sheet B. The piece A is moved in
a sliding motion, at constant speed, on
the surface of the sheet B (permanent
contact between the two surfaces).
Measurement of the tangential force T
needed to produce the movement.
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Practical examples of adhesion
Low to medium push force N High push force N

Stick-slip phenomenon = explains the sticking of

mechanical devices (the macroscopic destruction of the
surfaces in contact if their reciprocal motion is forced after
reaching a critical level of the surface wear due to the repeated
stick-slip phenomenon). Prevention => surfaces are
lubricated . Lubricants prevent metal-metal adhesion by
replacing the metal-metal contacts with metal-liquid ones.
(Note: lubricants do not play an anti-adhesive role !!!!)

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Conclusions
 In order to ensure the bonding of two surfaces, a
material of a different nature must be inserted
between the two pieces of the assemblage; this
material is called an adhesive.
 The adhesive must be able to penetrate the interfacial
area, to completely fill the interstice and to give, at
molecular level, a perfect contact between the species
existing on the surfaces to be bonded. In order to fulfil
these conditions, the adhesive must have a high
fluidity, in other words it must be in the liquid state.

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I.2. Characteristics of an Adhesive Joint
Experiments
 A paper sheet placed on a vertical glass surface => it slips (under its
own weight) unless pressed with a normal force.
 Wetting either the paper or the glass or both materials will result in
adherence.
 The mechanical work required for the separation of the two surfaces
increases if – water is replaced, in turn, with glycerine, honey or shoe
wax.
 Conclusion 1: adherence improves when the viscosity of the
liquid increases
 Use of mercury between paper and glass does not improve adhesion
(even if viscosity is higher). Mercury is a good adhesive only for
metallic surfaces.
 Surfaces in contact with the adhesive behave differently towards a given
liquid if they are clean (washed, degreased, etc.) or covered with dust,
grease or other contaminants.
 Conclusion 2: adhesion as a characteristic is specific for each solid
surface - liquid pair

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I.2. Characteristics of an Adhesive Joint
Adhesive = material which is applied onto the contact surface
between two solid bodies in a liquid state and which itself
subsequently transitions, through a process conventionally
called hardening, into an apparent solid, thus producing the
adhesion state - a state in which the two solid materials are
bonded and resist separation.
Steps for obtaining an adhesive joint:
I. Application of the liquid adhesive.
II. Hardening of the adhesive.

A A
A
(I) (II)

B B B

Steps for obtaining an adhesive joint.

(I) application of the adhesive; (II) hardening of the adhesive.
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 Constitutive elements of an adhesive joint
1. Adhesive.
2. Substrate (the material on the surface of which the adhesive is
applied; usually it is also called "the solid", but in fact it can be also
an amorphous, rigid or flexible material, however not a substance
with flowing characteristics).
3. Adhesive-substrate interface.
 Those three elements are found also when the adhesive is
used for covering a substrate's surface. In this latter case,
the adhesive is also known as a film-forming material
(varnishes, paints, primers, enamels ).
 Strength of an adhesive joint can be measured using two
parameters:
1. The unit effort required for separating the surfaces (breaking
the joint), represented by the separation force per unit of
interfacial area and measured in N/m2 (kgf/cm2).
2. The separation energy (mechanical work) per unit of
interfacial area, measured in J/m2 (kgf/cm).
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I.3. Application Areas of Adhesive Materials

Classes of adhesives (binders, binding agents)

 Metals.
 Mineral (inorganic) materials.
 Organic materials. Note that – at least in the final state
(after hardening) - all the organic adhesives have a
macromolecular structure (polymers).

The present course is dedicated to the organic

adhesives = polymer based materials.

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Types of adhesives depending on the liquid's nature
and the phenomena leading to the hardening.

Liquid in the initial state Hardening mechanism

Molten polymer (polymer in the Phase transition by cooling
visco-elastic state) (hardening)
Polymer diluted with an inert
Diffusion and/or evaporation of
liquid forming a homogeneous
the diluting, inert agent
or heterogeneous mixture
(drying)
(solutions or dispersions)
Liquid reactive agents (mixtures
of low-molecular or oligomeric Polyreactions (curing, setting)
compounds)
Note: in all cases, hardening occurs with volume shrinkage => pressure has to
be applied during bonding 11
Main classes of practical applications of the
polymer adhesives
 Adhesives (glues) – used for assembling two pieces of the
same or different materials in an adhesive joint.
 Film forming materials (paints, varnishes. primers)–
adhesives applied on a single substrate, used for:
a. Protection (against corrosion, abrasion, etc) of the surfaces
b. Alteration of the surface aspect for aesthetic purposes.
 Sealants (putties) - Sealing and waterproofing the spaces
resulting from the mechanical assembling of various parts.
 Binders for composite materials
 Additives for the textile industry
 binding agents between dyes and fibres (for textile printing)
 obtaining unwoven cloth by bonding fibres
 finishing tissues
 using adhesives to fill the interstitial spaces between fibres to obtain
gloss, resistance and to improve the textile touch.
Advantages of using organic (polymer) adhesives
 Bonding of very different materials (with a variety of
structure and chemical composition) for which classical
methods, such as welding for instance, are not applicable.
 Used to join bodies of a wide variety in what concerns both
shape and size (films, tissues, fibres, granules, etc).
 Using polymer adhesives does not impact the strength of the
joined parts and the adhesive film does not alter the
composition or structure of the substrate.
 Simple method, in many cases it does not require specialised
workforce or expensive equipment and the operating time is
short => the costs are sensibly lower as compared to other
assembling methods.
 Low specific weight of organic adhesives (important in
aeronautics, rockets, naval applications, automobile
manufacturing, etc)
 Adhesive joints are resistant to dynamic efforts and
chemical aggression.
 Beneficial side-effects (waterproofing, thermal or sound
insulation, protection against corrosion, etc.). 13