Technical Details
PowderBond delivers the strongest polypropylene to metal bonds
PowderBond has been subjected to a suite of strength tests and consistently shows metal to polypropylene bonding strengths far greater than those achieved using structural adhesives.
Bond Strength Testing
Pull-off bond strength
The bond between Al and GFPP is three times stronger than that created by structural adhesives as the chart and video illustrate.
The pull-off adhesion strength of PowderBond is more than three times greater than that for industrial adhesives used on composite that has been plasma treated. No such pre-treatment of the composite surface is required in the PowderBond system.
Substrate gives up before the bond
The failure mode is cohesive failure of the parent material, with fibre breakage and inter-ply cleavage witnessed for GF-PP composite materials.
Bond strength in shear
PowderBond delivers a bond strength over 2.5 greater than that achieved with adhesive applied onto plasma treated composite.
Shear strength and T-Peel strength
Both are much greater than that achieved with structural adhesives. Mechanical testing of standard joints reveals the peak load on lap shear approaching that of traditional epoxy-based adhesives used in metal-to-metal joints.
Durability Testing
Fatigue tests
The durability of the joint has been demonstrated through fatigue testing with full retention of joint strength following 100,000 cycles of HCF. Aluminium 6063 series was used, bonded to GFPP.
| Load Control | 60% of Initial Yield Strength | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | 5Hz | 10Hz | 15Hz |
| Cycles | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| Results | No Failure Full joint strength retention | No Failure Full joint strength retention | No Failure Full joint strength retention |
Extended testing fractured the aluminium following 220,000cycles
Service Temperature Range
Strength tests verified in university research project
The Automotive Lightweight Design Group (Leichtbau-im-Automobil) has been testing PowderBond at Paderborn University, the highly respected testing institute for automotive manufacturing in Germany. Bonding strengths achieved between aluminium and different glass fibre composites from Huesker and Mitsubishi Advanced Materials far exceeded expected levels. Strengths of over 20Mpa were achieved with all test specimens.
“Our own research trials show that PowderBond enables a superior bonding strength up to 21,90 MPa between metal and glass fibre reinforced polypropylene.”
Environmental credentials and sustainability
PowderBond meets important key criteria relating to health and safety, protection of the environment and sustainability. PowderBond is:
BPA-free
Free of solvents, VOCs and heavy metals
Applied in a closed system and there is minimal waste. Any waste that arises is non-hazardous.
At product end-of-life the bonded composite and metal components can be de-bonded and the materials reclaimed and recycled.
Find out more
Let’s talk PowderBond – and start testing your application
If you would like further information on our test procedures and results and other technical details please call us for a chat. We will work closely with you through evaluation for your own particular application.