Abstract
A review is presented of those factors responsible for promoting the integrity and longterm durability of metal-polymer bonds used in the fabrication of aircraft and aerospace structures. Using a multidisciplinary approach and a variety of surface analytical techniques such as extended resolution scanning electron microscopy (XSEM), X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), ellipsometry, and a new technique called surface behaviour diagrams (SBD), investigators at the author's laboratories have evolved several important concepts. First, it has been determined that the initial integrity of metal-polymer bonds depends critically upon the morphology of the surface oxide on the metal. For aluminium and titanium, the metals studied, it is demonstrated that certain etching or anodization pretreatment processes produce oxide films on the metal surfaces which, because of their porosity and microscopic roughness, mechanically interlock with the polymer forming much stronger bonds than if the surface were smooth. Second, the long-term durability of metal-polymer bonds is shown to depend strongly on the environmental stability (or lack of stability) of the same oxide which is responsible for good initial bond strength. For aluminium moisture intrusion at the bond line causes the oxide to convert to an hydroxide with an accompanying change in morphology and bond strength. For titanium the oxides appear to be much more stable than those on aluminium but under severe environmental conditions the oxide undergoes a polymorphic transformation which may lead to bond degradation. Third, it is observed that significant improvements in durability of adhesive bonds to aluminium can be achieved using an extremely simple treatment in which monolayer films of certain organic acids are applied to the adherend oxide to protect it against the effects of moisture.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
H. W. Eichner andW. E. Schowalter, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI, Report No. 1813 (1950).
G. S. Kabayashi andD. J. Donnelly, Boeing Co., Seattle, WA, Report No. DG-41517 (February, 1974).
Fokker-VFW, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Process Specification TH 6.785 (August, 1978).
R. F. Wegman andM. J. Bondnar,SAMPE Q. 5 (1973) 28.
M. J. Felsen, Proceedings of the 10th National SAMPE Technical Conference, Kiamesha Lake, NY, October 1978 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1978) p. 100.
P. F. A. Bijlmer,J. Adhes. 5 (1973) 319.
J. D. Venables, D. K. McNamara, J. M. Chen, T. S. Sun andR. L. Hopping,Appl. Surf. Sci. 3 (1979) 88.
J. D. Venables, D. K. McNamara, J. M. Chen, B. M. Ditchek, T. I. Morgenthaler, T. S. Sun andR. L. Hopping, Proceedings of the 12th National SAMPE Technical Conference, Seattle, WA, October 1980 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1980) p. 909.
A. J. Kinloch,J. Mater. Sci. 15 (1980) 2141.
Idem, ibid. 17 (1982) 617.
D. K. McNamara, Martin Marietta Laboratories, Baltimore, MD, unpublished work (May 1979).
ASTM Standard D1781, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Part 22 (ASTM, Philadelphia, PA, 1980) p. 587.
B. V. Deryagin andM. S. Metsik,Sov. Phys. Solid State 1 (1960) 1393.
J. M. Chen, T. S. Sun, J. D. Venables andR. L. Hopping, Proceedings of the 22nd National SAMPE Symposium, San Diego, CA, April 1977 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1977) p. 25.
J. J. Bickerman, “The Science of Adhesive Joints” (Academic Press, NY) 1968.
D. H. Kaeble,SAMPE Q. 7 (1976) 30.
W. Brockman, Proceedings of the 21st National SAMPE Symposium, Los Angeles, CA, April 1976 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1976) p. 30.
W. Brockman andH. Kolleck, Proceedings of the 23rd National SAMPE Symposium, Anaheim, CA, May 1978 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1978) p. 119.
E. H. Andrews andN. E. King,J. Mater. Sci. 11 (1976) 2004.
T. P. Hoar andN. F. Mott,J. Phys. Chem. Solid 9 (1959) 97.
D. K. McNamara, Martin Marietta Laboratories, Baltimore, MD, unpublished work (September 1979).
J. S. Ahearn, T. S. Sun, C. Froede, J. D. Venables andR. L. Hopping,SAMPE Q. 12 (1980) 39.
D. A. Vermilyea andW. Vedder,Trans. Faraday Soc. 66 (1970) 2644.
B. M. Ditchek, K. R. Breen, T. S. Sun andJ. D. Venables, Proceedings of the 12th SAMPE Technical Conference, Seattle, WA, October 1980, edited by M. Smith (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1980) p. 882.
S. R. Brown, in Proceedings of the 27th National SAMPE Symposium, San Diego, CA, May 1982 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1982) p. 363.
S. R. Brown andG. J. Pilla, Naval Air Development Command, Warminster, PA, Report NADC-82032-60, March 1982.
G. W. Lively, Air Force Materials Lab., Dayton, OH, Report AFML-TR-73-270, Part I, January 1974.
Y. Moji andJ. A. Marceau, US Patent 3,959,091, May 1976.
A. W. Bethune,SAMPE J. 11 (3) (1975) 4.
J. A. Marceau, Y. Moji andJ. C. McMillan, Proceedings of the 21st National SAMPE Symposium, Los Angeles, CA, April 1976 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1976) p. 332.
ASTM Standard D3762, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, part 22 (ASTM, Philadelphia, PA, 1980) p. 1037.
A. Mahoon andJ. Cotter, Proceedings of the 10th National SAMPE Technical Conference, Kiamesha Lake, NY, October 1978 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1978) p. 425.
W. Vedder andD. A. Vermilyea,Trans. Faraday Soc. 65 (1969) 561.
J. S. Ahearn, G. D. Davis, T. S. Sun andJ. D. Venables, Proceedings of the Symposium on Adhesion Aspects of Polymer Coatings, Minneapolis, MN, May 1981, edited by K. Mittal (Plenum Pub. Co., New York, NY, 1983) p. 288.
G. D. Davis, T. S. Sun, J. S. Ahearn andJ. D. Venables,J. Mater. Sci. 17 (1982) 1807.
T. S. Sun, Technical Report TR80-34c, Martin Marietta Laboratories, Baltimore, MD, September 1980.
M. Natan, J. D. Venables andK. R. Breen, Proceedings of the 27th National SAMPE Symposium, San Diego, CA, May 1982 (SAMPE, Azusa, CA, 1982) p. 178.
M. Natan andJ. D. Venables,Electrochem. Soc. Extended Abstr. 83 (1983) 379.
Idem, J. Adhes. 15 (1983) 125.
A. C. Fraker andA. W. Ruff,Corros. Sci. 11 (1971) 763.
J. D. Venables, M. E. Tadros andB. M. Ditchek, US Patent 4,308,079.
R. P. Carter, R. L. Carroll andR. R. Irani,Inorg. Chem. 6 (5) (1967) 939.
D. A. Hardwick, J. S. Ahearn andJ. D. Venables, Second-year report to Office of Naval Research, Boston, MA, ONR Contract N00014-00-C-0718, November 1982.
ASTM Standard D1876, Annual Book of ASTM Standards (ASTM, Philadelphia, PA, 1980) p. 607.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Venables, J.D. Adhesion and durability of metal-polymer bonds. J Mater Sci 19, 2431–2453 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00550796
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00550796