Internship: Open Air Time

Introduction

The internship focuses on understanding the key factors that influence adhesive bond strength, specifically the relationship between open-air time and adhesive performance. When using adhesive connections between two materials, it’s crucial to consider both the pot life (the time the resin remains liquid and workable) and the open-air time (the period between applying the adhesive and bonding the parts together). While the pot life is well-understood, the impact of open-air time on bond strength has not been thoroughly explored.

This research aims to investigate whether increasing open-air time (within the pot life limit) negatively affects the strength of the adhesive bond.

To explore this, you will conduct a series of tests:

• Dolly tests (ISO 4624): Quick and efficient tests to evaluate pull-out strength at different open-air times. This will give us an initial impression of how open-air time influences bond strength.
• Single lap shear tests (ISO 4587): If the dolly tests show a correlation, we will proceed with more detailed lap shear tests on samples with different open-air times. This will allow us to evaluate the difference in lap shear strength and gain deeper insights into the relationship.

You will test three different adhesives. These adhesives were chosen to represent different chemistries and bonding behaviors, providing a comprehensive view of how open-air time affects various adhesive systems.

The goal of this internship is to improve our understanding of adhesive behavior and to potentially optimize the use of adhesives in industrial applications, ultimately ensuring stronger, more reliable bonds.

Company

Founded over 30 years ago, Solico Engineering is Benelux’s largest composite engineering company, and proudly supports market leading composites manufacturers across a broad spectrum of Maritime, Defence, Civil & Architecture and Industrial markets. Always independent, and focused on smart, fit for purpose design, we commit to add value to every project we engineer.

** A VOG is required