Glass has been considered to be one of the most preferred building materials for its transparency and dematerializing appeal for building casings. As such, glass structures are demanded to be highly involved in the load transfer of a building, which in turn, requires adhesively bonded connections of parts. This is to enable bonds that are substance-to-substance while facilitating homogeneous distribution of forces, thus minimizing peaks caused by local stress. It is for this reason why structural bonds are becoming more significant for glass as an efficient choice for that material. Structural epoxy and threadlocker resins which is perfectly suitable in providing the structural bond for point fixings and connections.
Structural epoxies are commercially available in various types, each offering different areas of application. The most common industrial applications include construction engineering, mechanical engineering, and the automotive industries. While every structural epoxy and threadlockers are specially formulated for specific application, it would be quite difficult to have an optimally appropriate adhesive that is strictly suited for just a single application. For instance, resistance to aging and thermal stability are not sufficient for exterior uses. Starting from the most basic formulation of a structural epoxy resin, materials are chosen through careful examination of their mechanical, chemical, and thermo-mechanical properties.
In order to modify the basic formulations of threadlockers and structural epoxy, fillers and additives are included. They take on various roles within the adhesive system. Common examples of fillers are alumina, carbon black, lime, and talc. The use of these fillers can help reduce the costs of raw materials without adversely affecting the properties of the entire adhesive system. When it comes to additives, the widely used types in epoxy adhesives include plasticizers, light stabilizers, and rheological additives. Their major role is to modify certain properties of the epoxy for subsequent application. This significantly influenced the mechanical and thermal properties, and durability of the adhesive to protect it against external impact.