The Institution of Structural Engineers

JANUARY 1999

Guide to

The structural use

of adhesives

Published for the Institution of Structural Engineers

The Institution of Structural Engineers

Guide to

The structural use

of adhesives

JANUARY 1999

The Institution of Structural Engineers

11 UPPER BELGRAVE STREET SWlX 8BH
Constitution of Task Group

D McQuillan, BSc(Eng), CEng, FIStructE, FICE, FIEI, FIHT (Kirk McClure Morton), Chairman
A Bush (The Welding Institute)
S B Desai, OBE, BE, PhD, CEng, FIStructE, MICE (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions)
S A Hurley, BSc, PhD (Taywood Engineering Ltd)
A R Hutchinson, BSc, PhD, CEng, MICE (Oxford Brookes University)
G C Mays, BSc, PhD, CEng, MIStructE, FICE (Cranfield University (RMCS))
C J Mettem, MTech, CEng, MIMechE, RWSc (TRADA Technology)
D R Morris, BSc, MSc, PhD, DIC, CEng, MIStructE, MICE (Brown & Root)
C J Newman, BSc, (Building Research Establishment) (Until September 1997)
J S Robinson, BSc, CEng, FICE, MIStructE (Allott & Lomax)
N Thorpe, BSc(Hons), CEng, MICE (Health & Safety Executive)
Corresponding members
K Crews, BE(Hons), MEng(res), AIMSc, MIEAust, CPEng (University of Technology, Sydney)
F K Garas, BSc(Eng), PhD, CEng, FIStructE, FICE (formerly Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd)
J F Orr, BSc, PhD, CEng, FIMechE (The Queens University of Belfast)
Consultant to the Task Group
J L Clarke, MA, PhD, CEng, MIStructE, MICE (The Concrete Society, formerly Sir William Halcrow & Partners)
Secretary to the Task Group
S M Doran, BSc(Eng), AKC, PhD, CEng, MICE, FRSA (The Institution of Structural Engineers)

Published by SETO, 1 Upper Belgrave Street, London SWlX 8BH

First published 1999
ISBN 1 874266 43 3
0 1999 The Institution of Structural Engineers

The Institution of Structural Engineers and the members who served on the Committee which produced
this report have endeavoured to ensure the accuracy of its contents. However, the guidance and recommen-
dations given in the report should always be reviewed by those using the report in the light of the facts of
their particular case and specialist advice obtained as necessary. No liability for negligence or otherwise in
relation to this report and its contents is accepted by the Institution, the members of the Committee, its ser-
vants or agents.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
by any means without prior permission of the Institution of Structural Engineers, who may be contacted at
11 Upper Belgrave Street, London SWlX 8BH.

2 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

Contents

Foreword ....................................... 5 5.2 Situations in which combined

joints may be beneficial ....................... 23
Acknowledgements ............................... 5 5.3 Situations in which combined
joints will be ineffective ....................... 23
1 Glossary ...................................... 7 5.4 References .................................. 24

2 Introduction and scope ............. ............9 6 Fabrication of joints ............................ 25

2.1 Introduction .................................. 9 6.1 Quality assurance ............................ 25
2.2 Status of the report ............................ 9 6.2 Selection of adhesive ......................... 25
2.3 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6.3 Surface preparation ........................... 25
2.4 Overview of applications ....................... 9 6.4 Evaluation of surface condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
2.5 Advantages and disadvantages of adhesives . . . . . . .10 6.5 Mixing and application of adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
2.6 Design life .................................. 11 6.6 Environmental conditions ...................... 27
2.7 Economics .................................. 11 6.7 Assembly and visual inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
2.8 Health and Safety considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 6.8 Support systems ............................ 288
2.9 Relevant Standards ........................... 12 6.9 Proof testing ................................ 28
2.10 References ................................. 12 6.9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.9.2 Standard control samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 .
3 Adhesive bonding technology .................... 13 6.9.3 Non-destructive tests on connections . . . . . . . . .29
3.1 Fundamental concepts ........................ 13 6.9.4 Testing prototype connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 .
3.2 Types of adhesive ............................ 13 6.9.5 Testing connections on site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 .
3.2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 6.10 References ................................. 29
3.2.2 Epoxy resin adhesives .................... I3
3.2.3 Polyurethane adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 . 7 Connections between various materials ............ 31
3.2.4 Acrylic adhesives ........................ 13 7.1 Introduction ................................. 31
3.2.5 Polyester adhesives ...................... 13 7.2 Concrete ................................... 31
3.2.6 Resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) and phenol- 7.2.1 Surface preparation ...................... 31
resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF) adhesives . . . .14 7.2.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 31
3.2.7 Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) adhesives . . . . . . . .14 7.2.3Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.2.8 Melamine-urea-formaldehyde 7.3 Steel ...................................... 32
(MUF)adhesives ........................ 14 7.3.1 Surface preparation ...................... 32
3.2.9 Casein adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 7.3.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 32
3.2.10 Polyvinyl acetate and elastomeric adhesives . .14 7.4 Zinc coated steel ............................. 32
3.2.11 Adhesive tapes ......................... 14 7.4.1 Sugace preparation ...................... 32
3.3 Outline of adhesive properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 7.4.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 33
3.4 Adhesion ................................... 14 7.5 Stainless steels .............................. 33
3.5 Health and Safety considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 7.5.1 Surface preparation ...................... 33
3.6 References .................................. 16 7.5.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 33
7.6 Aluminium ................................. 33
4 Behaviour of adhesive joints ..................... 17 7.6.1 Surface preparation ...................... 33
4.1 Introduction ................................. 17 7.6.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 33
4.2 Current design standards ....................... 17 7.7 Timber ..................................... 33
4.3 Safety factors ............................... 17 7.7.1 General ................................ 33
4.4 Basis of design .............................. 18 7.7.2 Surface preparation ...................... 33
4.5 Design methods ............................. 19 7.7.3Selection of adhesive ..................... 33
4.6 Fatigue loading .............................. 19 7.7.4Assembly ............................... 33
4.7 Environmental effects ......................... 20 7.8 Reinforced plastics or fibre-reinforced
4.8 Fire ....................................... 20 polymer composites .......................... 35
4.9 Proprietary systems ........................... 20 7.8.1 Surface preparation ...................... 35
4.10 Summary of design method 7.8.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 35
for simple joints in shear ...................... 20 7.8.3Assembly ............................... 36
4.1 1 References ................................. 22 7.9 Glass ...................................... 36
7.9.1 Sugace preparation ...................... 36
5 Behaviour of combined adhesive/mechanical joints 23 .. 7.9.2 Selection of adhesive ..................... 36
5.1 Introduction and review of combined behaviour . . . .23 7.10 Connections between different materials . . . . . . . . .36

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 3

 I-.

7.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Appendix

7 A Organisations providing specialist advice on
adhesive technology .................. 49
8 Applications in new construction .................3 Appendix
7 .....
B British and international standards .SO
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Appendix
7 C Health and Safety regulations .......... 51
8.2 Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Appendix
7 D Acknowledgement of illustrations ....... 51
8.2.1 Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

8.2.4 Stainless ste . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

.

8.2.6 Glazing and structural glass .

8.2.7 Cladding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
.
8.2.8 Sandwich panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.2.10 Masonry . . . .
8.3 Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8.3.1 Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.2 Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
8.3.3 Timber . . ..................
8.3.4 Fibre-reinforced polymer composites . . . . . . . .40
8.3.5 Composite steel and concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 .
8.3.6 Aluminium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.3.7 Prestressing tendon anchorages . . . . . . . . . . . 40 .
8.4 Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.5 Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.6 Geotechnical applications ...................... 40
8.7 Offshore platforms ........................... 40
8.8 Railways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.9 Miscellaneous applications ..................... 40
8.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

9 Examples of repairs. refurbishment and

upgrading .................................... 43
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
9.2 Buildings ................................... 43
9.2.1 Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
9.2.2 Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
9.2.3 Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
9.3 Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . .
t
44
9.3.1 Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
9.3.2 Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
9.3.3 Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
9.3.4 Cast iron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
9.3.5 Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
9.4 Other structures .............................. 45
9.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

10 Future development ........................... 47

10.1 Introduction ................................ 47
10.2 New construction ........................... 47
10.2.1 Steel structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.2.2 Steel-concrete composite structures . . . . . . . . 47 .
10.2.3 Timber structures ....................... 47
10.2.4 Aluminium structures .................... 47
10.2.5 Glass structures ........................ 47
10.3 Repair techniques and applications . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
10.3.1 Concrete structures ..................... 47
10.3.2 Timber structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.3.3 Masonry structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.4 Testing ................................... 47
10.5 Education and training needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
10.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 Foreword

The use of adhesives in structural and semi-structural applications is increasing. Although a

significant amount of stand-alone information exists there is a definite lack of guidance,
and it is difficult for practitioners to determine the suitability, or otherwise, of adhesives for
potential applications.
The 10th SCOSS Report had some misgivings in respect of inappropriate use of adhesives
and also felt that opportunities for use could be restricted due to a lack of knowledge. The
Task Group has therefore attempted to pull together the available knowledge of materials
and techniques involved, in a coherent way, to allow Structural Engineers, with little or no
knowledge of adhesives, to:
be aware of the range of applications.
carry out, where appropriate, preliminary designs and prepare outline specifications
Hopefully the Guide will also be of use to manufactures, suppliers and contractors.
The Guide is therefore not a textbook or a definitive design guide - hence the very exten-
sive reference lists contained. The Task Group took a fundamental decision not to focus on
the chemistry involved because such specific and detailed information is readily available
from suppliers.
Throughout the Task Group has attempted to highlight Health and Safety aspects, and the
importance of workmanship and quality control issues.
The Task Group held a workshop in September 1997 at which the draft was presented to a
wide range of practitioners. The feedback received was very supportive and endorsed the
need for such guidance.
Finally, my thanks go to all the members of the Task Group for their enthusiasm and hard
work. It has been a privilege to be associated with them in the production of this Guide.
Special thanks go to John Clarke who, as Consultant to the Task Group, did most of the
drafting and editing and to Sue Doran who served the Task Group so efficiently.

Don McQuillan
Task Group Chairman
December 1998

Acknowledgements
The preparation of this report was partly funded by the Department of the Environment,
Transport and the Regions under the Partners in Technology Programme.
The Task Group gratefully acknowledges the assistance of all those who contributed to the
drafting of this report by commenting on drafts, attending the workshop held at the
Institution in September 1997 or supplying data and illustrations. Detailed acknowledge-
ment of the providers of the illustrations is given in Appendix D.

IStructE Structural use of adhesives

1 Glossary

As many of the readers of this Guide will be unfamiliar with Open time
adhesive technology, a number of the terms used are defined. The maximum allowable period between the mixing of the
A more extensive glossary has been prepared by ASTM'.' and adhesive and the closure of the joint.
there is a draft European standard which gives terms and defi-
nitions for adhesives'.*. Peel ply
The outside layer of a reinforced plastic material which is
Adherend removed to achieve improved bonding.
A member of a bonded joint.
Polymeric
Adhesion Adjective describing a material (most commonly organic)
The attraction between surfaces whereby, when they are composed of molecules characterised by the repetition of one
brought into contact, work must be done to separate them. or more types of monomeric units.

Adhesive Pot life or usable life

A polymeric material which is capable of holding two materi- The period of time during which a multi-part adhesive can be
als together by surface attachment. used after mixing the components. (NOTE: The pot life varies
with the volume and temperature of the mixed adhesive and
Bond the ambient temperature. The term 'pot life' is also used for
The adhesion of one surface to another, with the use of an the application of hot-melt adhesives for the period for which
adhesive or bonding agent. an adhesive, ready for use, remains usable when kept at nor-
mal operating temperature.)
Combined joint
A joint where the surfaces are held together by both adhesive Prepreg
and mechanical means. Reinforcing fibres in sheet or roll form impregnated with
resin and stored for use.
Composite or composite material
A combination of high modulus, high strength and high Primer
aspect ratio fibre reinforcing material encapsulated by and Material used to protect a surface prior to the application of
acting in concert with a polymeric matrix. the adhesive, improve adhesion and/or improve the durability
or to stabilise/protect the substrate.
Coupling agent (or adhesion promoter)
A chemical additive which promotes a strong and possibly Pultrusion
more durable interfacial bond. A continuous process for the manufacture of composite pro-
files by pulling layers of fibres, impregnated with a thermoset
Cure resin, through a heated die, thus forming the ultimate shape of
To change the properties of an adhesive irreversibly by chem- the profile.
ical reaction into a more stable condition and to develop the
desired properties. Resin
The reactive polymer base in adhesive and prepreg matrix
Filler systems.
A relatively inert substance added to an adhesive to alter its
physical, mechanical, thermal or other properties or to lower Roughness
the cost. Micro-roughness represents the fine structure of a surface
with dimensions less than 0. lpm. Macro-roughness repre-
Glass transition temperature (T ) sents the coarser structure of a surface, with dimensions
The approximate midpoint ofgthe temperature range over greater than this.
which a polymeric adhesive changes from a relatively stiff
and brittle material to a viscous material. Safe working temperature
The temperature (generally 10 - 2OoC below the glass transi-
Grout tion temperature, see earlier) below which the properties of
A heavily filled resin based material, the primary purpose of the adhesive in service may be assumed to be unaffected.
which is to fill a void, but which is capable of transmitting
some stress. Sealant
A material that seals the gap between two elements, prevents
Hardener the passage of fluids and will accommodate relative move-
The curing agent or catalyst which promotes chemical cross- ment, but will not transmit any significant stresses.
linking with the resin in two component adhesive systems.
Shelf life
Mechanical connection The period for which the components of the adhesive may be
The use of bolts, nails or similar means to join two structural stored, under the conditions specified by the manufacturer,
elements. without being degraded.
Mould release agent Sound
A substance applied to mould surfaces to prevent adhesion so Adjective describing a surface as being free from weak and
as to facilitate release of moulded items. loosely attached layers.

IStructE Structural use of adhesives IPREVIOUS PAGE IS BLANK I I

Substrate
The material of the adherend adjacent to the adhesive layer.
Thermoplastic
A polymeric material that repeatedly can be softened by heat-
ing and hardened by cooling through a temperature range
characteristic of the material.
Thermoset
A resin that is substantially infusible and insoluble after being
cured.
Wettability
The ability of a liquid to spread on a specific solid surface.
Wetting
The fon;nation of a thin layer of liquid spreading uniformly
over a surface without breaking into droplets.

References
1.1 ASTM D907-96a. Standard terminology of adhesives.
West Conshohocken: American Society for Testing
and Materials
1.2 EN 923: 1998: Adhesives - terms and definitions.
London: BSI, 1998

IStructE Structural use of adhesives

2 Introduction and scope

2.1 Introduction three categories, namely structural, semi-structural and non-

structural. For the purposes of this Guide, they may be con-
Adhesives have been used for many years in the aerospace sidered to be as follows:
and automotive industries. A great deal of research has been
carried out on the behaviour of adhesively bonded joints of structural: the bonded joint carries all the load in a partic-
the type used by those industries. There are obvious advan- ular direction, at service load or at both service and ulti-
tages to be gained from the transfer of appropriate technology mate loads; failure in the bond line leads to a significant
to the Construction Industry, with the possibility of new change in the behaviour of the structure or in its loadcar-
design approaches, improved structural efficiency and safety rying capacity.
of construction. However, there is a lack of appropriate guid- semi-structural: the bonded joint is required chiefly to
ance for structural engineers. Concern had been expressed by distribute the loads, the main loadcarrying being by some
the Standing Committee on Structural Safetyz.'that adhesives other mechanism; failure in the bond line may result in
may be being used inappropriately or opportunities for devel- some change of behaviour under service loads but the
opment were being lost. ultimate strength will not be affected.
This Guide is intended for Structural Engineers with little non-structural: the bonded joint is subjected to a nominal
or no knowledge of adhesives and the behaviour of adhesive stress; the consequences of failure in the bond line are
joints. It aims to provide the engineer with a basic knowledge structurally insignificant (though failure can still lead to a
of the materials and techniques involved, to outline the range risk of serious injury).
of applications for structural adhesives and to indicate how
simple joints may be designed. It is not intended to be a text This Guide is concerned chiefly with the use of adhesives in
book; extensive references are provided throughout to other structural and semi-structural applications though many of the
appropriate sources of information. topics covered, such as Health and Safety aspects, apply
equally well to all adhesive connections. It is important to
note that the three connection categories are very general and
it may not be clear exactly into which category a particular
2.2 Status of the report application falls. For example, a connection may rely on
The Institution of Structural Engineers has produced this adhesives to carry all the shear loads and yet may carry direct
report as a guide and, as such, it is only intended for use as a tensile forces by mechanical means. (An example is the
guide. It is not intended to provide the definitive approach in Advanced Composites Construction System, see Section
any situation, as in all circumstances the party best placed to 8.3.4).
decide on the appropriate course of action will be the A clear distinction must be made between the situation in
Structural Engineer undertaking the particular project. which the adhesive forms an integral part of the structural
material, such as plywood or glued laminated timber (glu-
lam), and adhesive connections between structural elements.
In the former case the selection of the adhesive is made by the
2.3 Scope manufacturer of the product. The engineer designs on the
This Guide is concerned with the use of adhesives with a basis of properties of the manufactured product and will not
polymeric matrix used in structural applications; cementitious be Concerned with the behaviour of the adhesive. In the latter
materials are not considered. The Guide does not specifically case the engineer will be required to design the connection,
cover the use of sealant materials i n applications such as and hence specify the required properties of the adhesive. A
structural glazing. This is covered in another Institution of key aspect in the design of the adhesive joint is the bond
Structural Engineers publicationz.2. between the adherend and the adhesive; this is discussed fur-
The intended readership of this Guide are engineers con- ther in Section 3.4.
cerned with the structural design of buildings and other struc- The importance of workmanship is emphasised throughout
tures, both onshore and offshore, and it should be used in the Guide; it is better to apply a reasonable adhesive correctly
conjunction with the appropriate structural design codes. It is rather than the best adhesive badly.
also intended for use by engineers concerned with the repair, It is strongly advised that consultation with specialists in the
strengthening and upgrading of structures. field of adhesive bonding is undertaken before any detailed
The intention of this Guide is to provide Structural design is camed out. A list of some of the organisations which
Engineers with sufficient information which, when coupled can provide specialist advice is given in Appendix A.
with their own expertise, will enable them to carry out a pre-
liminary design and to prepare an outline specification using
structural adhesives. For more detailed information on the 2.4 Overview of applications
behaviour of adhesive joints reference should be made to one
of the standard books on the subject, such as Adams, Comyn It has been estimated that the largest use of structural adhesives
and In addition, for specific applications it will gen- in civil engineering, more than 75%, is in repairs. However,
erally be necessary to obtain specialist advice from suppliers. for many engineers the most familiar use of structural adhe-
The Guide does not consider the chemistry of adhesives in sives is likely to be for connecting dowel bars into concrete or
any significant detail. Extensive references are given so that into masonry or else in the form of resin anchors. These
the reader may obtain additional information if required. It applications are largely outside the scope of this Guide, but
does not list specific products but deals only with generic are considered briefly in Section 4.9.
types of adhesives. Similarly, it does not specify the particu- As far as the various construction materials are concerned,
lar chemicals to be used in degreasing and the like; through- the largest use of adhesives for structural applications is with
out it is assumed that such materials and associated tech- timber, either in the form of fabricated products, such as ply-
niques will be selected in conjunction with the recommenda- wood and glued laminated timber (glulam), or for connec-
tions of the manufacturer of the adhesive. tions between members. Examples of applications include
Adhesive connections may be divided, very broadly, into footbridges and long-span roof structures for buildings.

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 9

 2.5 Advantages and disadvantages of
adhesive connections
The advantages and disadvantages of using adhesives follow.
They are presented in no particular order as the relative sig-
nificance of any factor will depend on the particular applica-
tion being considered. In some cases a particular factor may
not apply at all. Where appropriate, the advantages and disad-
vantages of adhesives are compared with the more traditional
forms of connection.
Advantages
no damage to parent material (cf. drilling for bolts, etc.)
no damage to exposed surfaces (cf. spot-welding)
good aesthetics
fewer pieces required to form connection (cf. bolts,
washers, etc.)
smaller additional pieces, e.g. gusset plates, required to
Fig 1 . Sydney Opera House form connection (cf. bolted connections and similar
Adhesives are also extensively used in glazing where they where minimum edge distances may determine plate
have an important structural role. For concrete the main uses dimensions)
of adhesives are in the joints between precast units, such as in fluid- and weathertight joint
glued segmental bridges. Fig 1 shows the Sydney Opera improved resistance to corrosion
House, the precast concrete segments of which were bonded high effective stiffness of joint (cf. bolted connections
together. A growing area of use is for strengthening and which may slip)
upgrading using bonded steel or fibre-reinforced polymer improved fatigue performance, because of reduction in
composite plates. stress concentrations
There has been limited use of adhesives with steel struc- high, uniform strength and stiffness along joint
tures, though there is considerable potential for applications tolerant to dimensional inaccuracies
in the near future. dissimilar materials can be joined readily; elimination of
Fibre-reinforced polymer composites are used extensively bimetallic corrosion
for structural applications in boats and other marine applica- good noise and vibration damping
tions and also in the aerospace and motor industries. They are efficient method of joining thin materials
starting to be used offshore, because of their low weight and potential for simpler, faster fabrication
good durability, and for special structures on land. In many
applications of these materials, adhesive bonding is the most Disadvantanes
effective method of forming connections. Fibre composites e lack of>xperience of use when compared with traditional
are starting to be used in a wide range of strengthening tech- materials and methods
niques for concrete, timber, masonry and other structures. e properties will vary between different suppliers and are
As indicated above, some applications for structural adhe- constantly being improved
sives are well established, with the appropriate guidance read- e surface treatment required
ily available, while other applications are still being devel- e requires a high level of supervision by experienced staff
oped. Table 1 gives an overview of the situation. More e generally requires a carefully controlled environment
detailed information on current applications is given in during assembly and curing of a joint, which is often dif-
Chapter 8 for new construction and Chapter 9 for repairs, ficult to achieve (particularly important for site assembly)
refurbishment and upgrading. Possible future developments in a possible Health and Safety implications (though this will
applications for structural adhesives are given in Chapter 10. also apply to techniques such as welding)
Where emerging technology is used particular care is essen- 0 time taken for connection to achieve full loadcarrying
tial and in appropriate cases the engineer may need to warn capacity (cf. bolting or welding)
the client accordingly. a completed connection not easily inspected
e strength limited under certain directions of loading; joints
Table 1 Overview of applications showing degree of must be suitably designed
acceptance by the Construction Industry e connection can not be disassembled (cf. bolts)
, a adhesive properties affected by temperature and humidity
Status Application (cf. bolts)
e possible complete loss of performance in fire
Established technology Anchors and fixings, including dowels e lack of long-term experience in some applications
in concrete and timber e creep effects may be significant, particularly at elevated
Ground anchors
Replacement wall ties temperatures
Timber composites e lack of agreed design guidance (applies to some materials
Timber-timber connections only)
Steel plate bonding
Precast concrete segmental construction As may be inferred from the preceding lists, there will be sit-
Fibre composites uations in which it will be more appropriate to use traditional
Glazing connection techniques, or a combination of techniques such
Cladding panels as using adhesives in a bolted connection. The latter is dis-
Technology becoming Carbon fibre plate bonding cussed in Chapter 5. The aim of this Guide is to present the
established Timber repair techniques properties of adhesives and bonded connections so that the
designer can make the appropriate choices. The decision as to
Emerging technology Steel-steel connections whether to use adhesives or not needs to be taken early in the
Other structural metals, e.g. design process as it can have a significant influence on the
stainless steel geometry of the connections. The decision will also have a
Structural glass significant influence on the methodology of erection or con-
Timber-FRP composites struction of a structure and hence on the cost.

10 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

2.6 Design life Table 2 Design working life classification in
draft ENV 1991-12.4
The design life of an adhesive connection in a new structure I I
will generally be required to be the same as that of the total Class Required design Example
structure. Some guidance is given in the draft ENV 1991-1'.", working life (years)
which divides structures into various classes, as shown in
Table 2. All the figures given are 'boxed' values, i.e. they 1 1-5 Temporary structures
can be amended by the relevant National Application
Document. In the UK, design codes such as BS 81102.5do 2 25 Replaceable structural parts,
e.g. gantry girders, bearings
not actually specify an intended life for buildings. For high-
way bridges in the UK the specified design life is 120 Building structures and
There is limited experience of the long-term behaviour of other common structures
adhesives. This has led to recommended minimum lives for
adhesive. repairs of 30 years'.'. There is experience of the use Monumental building structures,
of adhesives in the aircraft industry for a number of years, but bridges, and other civil engineer-
the design considerations are somewhat different from those ing structures
in civil engineering structures. The lack of knowledge of the
long-term behaviour of adhesives in appropriate situations is
a limitation which could prohibit the use of structural adhe- tional concrete.
sives in many applications. As systems for monitoring the A small concrete underpass beneath a major road near
condition of adhesive connections are developed, confidence Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire was repaired with car-
in their long-term behaviour will improve. bon fibre composite strips of the type previously developed in
However, there may be some applications in which a com- Switzerland2.10.The alternative to a plate bonded repair in this
ponent is removed and replaced on a regular basis during the situation would have been complete reconstruction, which
life of the structure, such as bearings in bridges. In others it would have resulted in significant road closures and the con-
may be possible to inspect joints between structural members sequent disruption to traffic.
at intervals during the life of the structure, and carry out any I n Canada, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite
necessary repairs. Finally there could be applications in tem- sheet material was applied to the soffits and the sides of a
porary works, where a long life is not a requirement. In these bridge in Edmonton, to improve the shear resistance'". The
cases the use of adhesives may be a practical solution, despite cost was reported as $70 500 for strengthening the complete
concerns over the limited design life. bridge. The paper makes some comparisons with a conven-
tional external stirrup system, which was estimated to cost
some $100 000. Thus the bonded solution showed approximate-
ly a 30% saving in costs, due chiefly to the fact that the work
2.7 Economics was carried out below the bridge avoiding the traffic closures
The economics of the use of an adhesive rather than a that would have been required for the conventional system.
mechanical connection will depend on the particular circum-
stances being considered. Many factors will be involved,
some of which have been outlined in the lists of advantages 2.8 Health and Safety considerations
and disadvantages in Section 2.5. It will be necessary to con-
sider cost comparisons both in the short term and also in the This Guide is intended for use by Structural Engineers, who
long term. The latter may be difficult to quantify as the life- should be aware of their duties under the various Health and
time behaviour can only be estimated fairly crudely. Safety regulations. These include The Management of the
In glued segmental construction, the rapid gain in strength Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and The
of adhesives in the joints, in comparison to the longer time Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994
taken by cement-based products, leads to significant savings (CDM). In particular the engineer should take into account
in the total construction time. the changes to the assessment of the risks involved with the
For repairs, factors such as the cost of access and posses- design and construction process when adhesives are used in
sion time will have to be taken into account. For example, place of conventional joining techniques. Thus the risks asso-
work on the upgrading of a major highway in New York City ciated with adhesives will have to be included in the CDM
had to be carried out at night as there was a requirement for Health and Safety Plan, which must be produced at the design
the road to be fully open during the day. The penalty for fail- stage and developed by the principal contractor (as defined by
ure to reopen the carriageway in the morning was $30 000 per the CDM Regulations) as the work proceeds. This plan forms
hour, with a penalty of $20 000 per day for over-run of the the basis for the Health and Safety File which must be handed
complete project. over to the client on the completion of the works so that it can
Similarly high costs are incurred by the closure of railways. be available to anyone involved in future maintenance or con-
It has been reported that the cost of closure of the Central struction work. The Health and Safety File should include
Line on the London Underground amounts to f0.25M per day details of the use of adhesive joints in the structure together
in lost revenue. with any inspection and testing regime that is considered
Unfortunately, for most of the applications given in later appropriate.
Chapters, the reported economic considerations are largely Reference is made throughout this Guide to the Health and
qualitative, but they can be used for guidance when attempt- Safety requirements for the use of the adhesive materials
ing to determine the economics of a particular application. themselves and the associated surface preparation processes.
Marble cladding panels, which had come loose from the Health and Safety data sheets should be obtained from the
facade of a 31-storey building in Houston, USA, have been manufacturers and should be followed at all times.
refixed using a polyurethane adhesive. The work was carried A list of some of the relevant Health and Safety regulations
out without the need to remove the panels from the building, is given in Appendix C.
reducing the cost of the repair from $6M to $0.5M2.8.
In Florida the beam-column connections in a parking
garage have been strengthened by bonding carbon fibre sheet
material to the sides of the It was estimated that the 2.9 Relevant Standards
adhesively bonded repair was 35% cheaper than the conven- Throughout this Guide, reference is made to appropriate
tional method, which would have involved dowelling in addi- British and other Standards. For convenience they are brought
tional steel reinforcement and encasing the joint with addi- together in Appendix B as well as at the end of the appropri-

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 11

 I.
,d.
!*.
ate chapters i n the text. It should be noted that British
Standards are in the process of being superseded by European
Standards though the latter will still be issued by BSI; the
Structural Engineer should always ensure that the most recent
relevant Standard is being used.

2.10 References
2.1 Standing Committee on Structural Safety. SCOSS
Tenth report. London: SETO, 1994
2.2 Institution of Structural Engineers, The structural use
of glass in buildings. London, SETO (to be published
1999)
2.3 Adams, R. D., Comyn, J., Wake, W.C.: Structural
adhesive joints in engineering, 2nd edn. London:
Chapman and Hall, 1997
2.4 DD ENV 1991-1: 1996: Basis of design and actions
on structures (Eurocodel). London: BSI, 1996
2.5 BS 81 10: Structural use ofconcrete. London: BSI
2.6 BS 5400: Steel, concrete and composite bridges.
London: BSI
2.7 Rendel, Palmer and Tritton. Adhesive bonding in a
civil engineering environment. Report to Scottish
Development Agency, December 1983
2.8 Kraker, J. M.: Fix salvages unglued panels, saving
tower owner $5.5 million. Engineering News Record,
10 March 1997, p9
2.9 Kliger, H.: Repair of parking structures. FRP
International, IV (4), Autumn 1996, p3-4
2.10 Anon: Passing the plate. New Civil Engineer, 13
February 1997, p9
2.1 I Anon: Packing more road into parkway. Engineering
News Record, 12 May 1997, p30-3 1

12 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

3 Adhesive bonding technology

3.1 Fundamental concepts depending on the formulation and the filler content, they gen-
erally exhibit low creep and resist environmental effects well.
A number of different aspects must be taken into account Their range of operating temperatures and the limited cure
when considering the use of an adhesive to form a structural shrinkage make them particularly suitable for structural appli-
connection. These include: cations.
Numerous formulations are available, which may be suit-
design of the geometry of the joint (see Section 4.4) able for cold curing or may need the addition of heat during
selection of the adhesive itself, taking into account the the curing period. The adhesive can be supplied in liquid or
materials to be joined, the stresses to be camed and the paste form, generally as two components though single com-
environmental conditions both during application, curing ponent products are available. The latter, however, require a
and in service (see Section 3.2 and Chapter 7) high cure temperature.
preparation of the surfaces to be joined (see Chapter 7) Epoxies are very strong and durable. Structural materials
workmanship (see Chapter 6) for which they are suitable include steel, concrete, many plas-
Health and Safety and environmental considerations, tics, etc. They are commonly used for repairs to timber
both during assembly and throughout the life of the struc- involving steel and other inserts. They have been used for
ture (see Sections 3.5 and 6.1) bonding wood, but only in special cases due to their high
price.
Throughout it is essential to consider an adhesive connection It should be noted that, though not dealt with in EN 199Y9,
as a total system. Failure to take sufficient account of one par- the use of epoxy resins is not explicitly rejected. This is in
ticular aspect of the design or of the fabrication of the con- keeping with modern codes for timber which aim to be less
nection may result in total failure. prescriptive and are geared more towards stating performance
Some general considerations are given in the following requirements.
Sections; more detailed coverage may be found in standard
reference^^.'-^.^ and information relevant to specific materials
is given elsewhere in this Guide. 3.2.3 Polyurethane adhesives
Polyurethane adhesives are very versatile, with many possible
applications. They exhibit good durability, with an adequate
resistance to water and a high tolerance to oils and chemicals.
3.2 Types of adhesive However, they are slightly weaker than epoxies and more sus-
ceptible to creep and moisture effects. Their operation tem-
perature, up to say 6OoC for some formulations, makes them
3.2.1 Introduction suitable for many structural and semi-structural applications
This Section is intended to give a brief overview of the vari- in which the bonded materials are kept reasonably dry.
ous types of adhesives that are suitable for structural applica- They are generally supplied in a two-component form,
tions. It is assumed throughout that the adhesives are correct- though single-part formulations, which rely on moisture as
ly formulated appropriate to their intended use and have been the catalyst, are available. One-part products are used exten-
obtained from a reliable, quality assured, source. Further gen- sively in sandwich panel applications. Two-part products are
eral information on adhesives for engineering applications used in timber joints and repairs, but are sensitive to the mois-
can be found in Mays and H u t c h i n ~ o nand ~ . ~ L e e P , while ture content of the timber.
TRADA provide information on adhesives for timber3.. Structural materials for which polyurethane adhesives are
Silicones, which are used extensively for lightly loaded bond- suitable include timber and natural stone. Because they are
ed glazing have not been included in this Section. Further not resistant to attack by alkalis, polyurethane adhesives are
information on this application may be found in the not generally suitable for use with concrete unless correctly
Institution of Structural Engineers guide on structural glass.. formulated. However, they have been used for bonding rail
Adhesives are categorised as thermoplastic or thermoset, base plates to concrete track bed.
depending on their chemical makeup and the effect of tem- In Scandinavia, polyurethanes are favoured over epoxies
perature in their hardened state. They are available in a wide for perceived Health and Safety reasons.
variety of forms, including liquids and pastes, in one- or two-
part formulations. In the latter, a hardener, or catalyst is 3.2.4 Acrylic adhesives
mixed with the resin to initiate curing. Heat may or may not Acrylic adhesives cover a range of materials with a variety of
be required. curing mechanisms. For structural applications toughened
While adhesives are generally classified under the names acrylics are generally used, which bond readily to various
given later, they are complex blends of many components, adherends with minimal surface preparation. The adhesives
including fillers and plasticisers, which are added to the basic are generally supplied in two-component parts.
formulation to make them suitable for particular applications. Thermoplastic acrylics are liable to exhibit significant
Thus the following Sections should be seen as describing creep, particularly at elevated temperatures.
families of adhesives rather than specific materials. Indicative Applications for which acrylic adhesives are suitable
values for the properties of structural adhesives are given in include sandwich and cladding panels. They are particularly
Section 3.3. Data for specific products must be obtained from suitable for applications in which thin bond lines are achiev-
manufacturers; because of the rapid developments in materi- able, e.g. metal to metal or with plastics.
als, it is essential that any data sheets used are current.

3.2.2 Epoxy resin adhesives 3.2.5 Polyester adhesives

Epoxy adhesives can be formulated in a wide range of forms Polyester adhesives are used in applications in which a rapid
to give a broad range of properties after curing. Hence they gain in strength is required, such as in resin anchors.
are suitable for bonding a wide range of materials in a range Formulations are available which allow curing to take place
of applications. They possess good gap filling properties, at sub-zero temperatures. However, their use as structural

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 13

adhesives in many situations will be limited by their poor 3.2.10 Polyvinyl acetate and elastomeric adhesives
creep and shrinkage behaviour, their lack of tolerance to These are limited to non-loadbearing uses indoors, such as
damp or wet conditions and their relatively high intrinsic cure attaching laminates to woods. They have limited resistance to
shrinkage. moisture. Cross-linking polyvinyl acetate adhesives are much
stronger and more durable, but are still restricted to non-struc-
3.2.6 Resorcinol-formaldehyde(RF) and phenol- tural use.
resorcinol-formaldehyde(PRF) adhesives
These are a range of adhesives suitable for use with timber, 3.2.11 Adhesive tapes
covered by both British and European StandardS.O.l. Curing Double-sided adhesive tapes are particularly suitable for
may be at room temperature or at elevated temperatures. The bonding materials with a very smooth surface finish. The
adhesives are very strong and durable; they are fully water-, tapes are contact adhesives, bonding under relatively light
boil- and weather-resistant and will withstand salt-water pressure, leading to rapid assembly; 50% of the ultimate bond
exposure. They are widely used in laminated timber, finger- strength can be achieved after 10 minutes at normal room
jointing of members, etc., both indoors and outside. Best per- temperatures. They can be used to bond materials with very
formance is obtained with thin adhesive layers. Hence the different coefficients of thermal expansion, such as polycar-
materials are not suitable for gap filling applications. bonate sheet to a metal framework, the thermal movements
RFs are rarely used alone because of their relatively high being accommodated by the high strain capacity of the tape.
COStJ*. With the correct choice of tape, the operating temperature can
be as high as 65OC or down to well below zero.
A major use is in the automotive and aircraft industries.
3.2.7 Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) adhesives However, one widespread structural application is bonding
These are hot-cured adhesives which are typically used in traffic signs to the supporting framework as in Fig 2. In addi-
hot-press fabrication of structural plywood and similar mate- tion, double sided tapes are used to fit cladding and ceiling
rials. They have the same durability properties as RF- and units and have applications in glazing, connecting glass to the
PRF-adhesives. If PFs are to cure at room temperature (cold
setting) then strong acids are required which are liable to supporting framework.
damage wood, which limits their use for structural purposes.
They are unlikely to be used other than in factory conditions.
3.3 Outline of adhesive properties
3.2.8 Melamine-urea-formaldehyde(MUF) and urea- Table 3 gives some typical properties of adhesives that may
formaldehyde (UF) adhesives be used for structural applications. They should only be taken
These are timber adhesives which have intermediate water- as indicative; detailed information for design purposes should
resistance and hence are mainly suitable for protected condi- be obtained, wherever possible, from the appropriate manu-
tions, or where the member is protected from the worst facturer, though not all manufacturers may be able to provide
effects of the weather. They may be cured at a range of tem- the required values. Where manufacturers are unable to pro-
peratures from 10C upwards. Unless suitably filled, they vide the appropriate data, values will have to be obtained
should be used in applications in which the bond-line is thin- from technical literature or from standard text books. The
ner than 0.1mm. choice of appropriate factors of safety is discussed in Chapter
4. Fig 3 shows some test methods commonly used to deter-
3.2.9 Casein adhesives mine the properties of adhesives. It should be noted that
These are derived from milk and are less water-resistant than appropriate factors of safety will be applied to some of these
urea-formaldehydes, but have been found to be suitable for values to give design strengths, see Sections 4.3 and 4.10.
loadbearing use in fully protected indoor timber structures. Values for the commonly used timber adhesives have not
They are susceptible to bacteriological and fungal attack. been included as they are generally assumed to be stronger
-
than the timber itself.
The values in Table 3 may be compared with the values in
Table 4 for common structural materials. For the metals in
Table 4, the values quoted for the shear and tensile strengths
are at yield; their ultimate values will be significantly higher.
Table 5 gives indicative characteristics of some structural
adhesives, which may be used to determine the suitability of a
particular type of resin for a particular application. It must be
noted that the comparisons are with other adhesives and not
Toddington with the structural materials with which they will be used. In
addition, it must be borne in mind that, because of the wide
range of formulations available, there can be exceptions to the

Service Area stated characteristics in certain circumstances.

CLOSED 3.4 Adhesion

Adhesion is the attraction between surfaces whereby, when
they are brought into contact, work must be done in order to
separate them. Thus adhesion is associated with intermolecu-
lar forces acting across the interface. The basic requirements
for good adhesion are:
intimate contact between adhesive and substrate
absence of weak layers or contamination at the interface.
There are various mechanisms by which forces are camed across
the interface between the adhesive and the substrate, namely
Fig 2 . Double-sided tapes used for fixing signs adsorption, mechanical interlocking and diffusion bonding.

14 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 In the adsorption mechanism, molecules of the adhesive are
adsorbed onto the surface of the substrate because of the nat-
Initial 12.7 debond ural forces of attraction between the materials. Chemical
Bondline
3.2 thick wedge
bonding may occasionally take place. Mechanical interlock-
ing of the adhesive and the substrate will improve the adhe-
sion; with porous surfaces such as concrete and masonry the
adhesive will penetrate into the substrate. In the diffusion
process, some of the adhesive material penetrates the surface
of the substrate, combining with the material to form a com-
25.4
150
pound.
It is important that the adhesive, and any primer that is
(i) Wedge cleavage specimen required, thoroughly wets the surface of the substrate and
flows into any irregularities. For wetting to occur, the surface
tension of the liquid adhesive must be lower than the surface
1.6 energy of the substrate. Metals, when suitably cleaned, have
4 high surface energies and are readily wetted. For materials
such as reinforced thermoset plastics the surface energy is
similar to the surface tensions of adhesives and wetting can
(ii) Shear test specimen still be achieved. For low surface energy materials such as
thermoplastics wetting may be a problem unless some modifi-
cation can be made to the surface.
From the above it is clear that surface preparation prior to
t t the application of the adhesive will play a crucial role in the
behaviour of the connection. This is dealt with in detail in
general terms in Chapter 6 and in more detail in Chapter 7. It
should be noted that the purpose of surface preparation is not
just to obtain initial adhesion, but to provide a surface which
will remain stable for a long period of time, particularly in the
4 presence of water. A good standard of surface preparation is
therefore essential to promote long-term durability.
(iii) T - and L - Peel test configurations The role of any primer that is used is to coat the substrate
with a material that has a strong link with both the substrate
and the adhesive. With porous surfaces, the primer will pene-
trate the surface providing a mechanical link. With non-
porous surfaces some chemical bonding may occur. The
Fig 3. Standard adhesive tests selection of an appropriate primer will depend on the nature
of the substrate and of the adhesive and hence is likely to be

Table 3 Typical properties of some structural adhesives

Property EPOXY Polyurethane I Acrylic

~~
Polyester
Shear strength (N/mm2) 15-35 15-25 15-25 ??
Shear modulus (kN/mm2) 0.5-2 0.1-0.2 0.01-0.02 ??
Shear failure strain (%) 5-50 50-200 50-200 ??
Tensile strength (N/mm2) 20-40 15-25 15-35 10-25
Tensile modulus (kN/mm2) 1-10 -0.5 -0.5 ??
Tensile failure strain (%) I 4 10 50 6
Glass transition ("C) 35-loo* 35-80 -100 30-70*
Poisson's ratio 0.3-0.4 0.4 0.43 ??
Thermal expansion ( 10-6/oC) 30-70 40 50 30-70
~

* If post-cured
Table 4 Typical properties of some common structural materials
Property Steel Concrete Timber Aluminium alloys
Shear strength (N/mm2) 120 1-3 5-16 150
Tensile strength (N/mm2) 250 1-5 8-40 240
Tensile modulus (kN/mm2) 200 N.A. 4-17 70
Tensile failure strain (%) 5 0.01 0.9-5 7-15
Poisson's ratio 27 0.15 0.3-0.7 0.3 I

Thermal expansion ( 10-6/oC) 12 8-12 2-10 23

Table 5 Indicative characteristics of some structural adhesives

Characteristics EPOXY Polyurethane Acrylic Polyester RF & PRF PF
Creep resistance Excellent Poor Poor Fair ?? ??
Moisture resistance Excellent Fair Good Fair Excellent Excellent
Heat resistance Good Fair Fair Good ?? ??
Cold or hot cure Both Cold Cold Cold Both Hot
Cure time Medium/long Medium/short Short Short ?? Short
Gap filling Yes Yes No Yes Yes ??
I I I I

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 15

 /..
unique for any particular application.
Where the surface is prepared in the factory but the adhe-
sive is applied on site, the primer may be required to protect
the surface during transport.

I 3.5 Health and Safety considerations

The manufacturers Health and Safety data sheets must
always be obtained and read before use. They should be used
as the basis of any COSHH (Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health) assessment. Adhesives should always
be used in accordance with the manufacturers recommenda-
tions, taking the necessary precautions such as the use of pro-
tective clothing during mixing and application. Similarly,
when preparing the surface prior to the application of some
adhesives, provision must be made for adequate extraction of
noxious fumes, dust, etc. and a suitable supply of fresh air.
Mixing should always be in accordance with the manufac-
turers instructions, particularly with regard to the quantity of
adhesive mixed at any one time, as exothermic reactions can
lead to excessive temperature rises.
In addition to considering the Health and Safety aspects of
fabricating the adhesive connection, it is also necessary to
consider the long-term behaviour including the possibility
and consequences of failure.

3.6 References
3.1 Feldman, D.: Polymeric building materials. New
York: Elsevier Science, 1989
3.2 Kinloch, A. J.: Adhesion and adhesives: science and
technology. London: Chapman and Hall, 1987
3.3 Panek, J. R. and Cook, J. P.: Construction sealants
and adhesives, 2nd edn. New York: Wiley, 1984
3.4 Wake, W. C.: Adhesion and the formulation of adhesives.
London: Applied Science, I976
3.5 Mays, G . C., Hutchinson, A. R.: Adhesives in civil
engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1992
3.6 Lees, W. A. ed.: Adhesives and the engineer. London:
Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, 1989
3.7 TRADA: Adhesives for wood and wood products - BS
EN Standards. Wood information, Section 213, Sheet
35, High Wycombe: Timber Research and
Development Association, 1993
3.8 Institution of Structural Engineers. The structural use
of glass in buildings. London, SET0 (to be published
1999)
3.9 DD ENV 1995-1-1: 1994: Design of timber structures.
General rules for building. London: BSI, 1994
3.10 BS 1204: 1993: Specifcation for type M R phenolic
and aminoplastic synthetic resin adhesives for wood.
London: BSI, 1993
3.1 1 EN 301 : 1992: Adhesives, phenolic and aminoplastic,
for load-bearing timber structures: classijication and
perj5ormance requirements. London: BSI, 1992
3.12 Raknes, E.: Adhesives. In: Blass, H. J. et al.: Timber
engineering, STEP 1, lecture A12. Almere: The
Netherlands: 1995

16 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

4 Behaviour of adhesive joints

4.1 Introduction to the calculated resistance. For a variety of reasons, other

design Codes do not use a separate partial safety factor for
This Chapter considers the design of joints in which the load this effect.
is carried by the adhesive only. The behaviour of joints in All materials used should be in accordance with recognised
which the load is carried by a combination of adhesive and Standards to reduce uncertainties to acceptable levels. The
mechanical means is covered in Chapter 5. Only the behav- effects of workmanship are difficult to quantify but some
iour of the adhesive itself is discussed here, it being assumed indication can be obtained by means of testing representative
that the adhesion to the adherends is adequate. Further infor- samples, see Section 6.9. Obviously the simplest way to
mation on the general properties of adhesives in engineering reduce uncertainty is to use suitably qualified staff to carry
applications may be found in Chapter 3. Definitions of the out the work, in accordance with detailed and proven method
terms used to describe modes of failure in adhesive joints are statements and specifications. Variability will be reduced by
defined in BS EN IS0 10365"'. Detailed information of adhe- careful control of the bonding process with regular inspection
sive joints may be found in Adams, Comyn and Wake4.'. The accompanied by the maintenance of detailed records.
selection of adhesives suitable for use with various common The long-term behaviour of the adhesive and the durability
structural engineering materials is covered in Chapter 7. of the adhesive/parent material assembly may be more diffi-
cult to quantify. While there is some information on the long-
term strength retention of adhesives, this will generally be
4.2 Current design standards from unstressed samples4*. In service the adhesive will be
stressed, which will have some additional influence on the
There are no National or International standards dealing long-term properties (see Section 4.7). In any case, the prop-
specifically with the design of adhesive joints. Advice on the erties obtained from relatively short-term exposure tests will
design of adhesively bonded joints is given in the EURO- have to be extrapolated to the design life of the structure.
COMP Design Code and H a n d b ~ o k ~Though .~. this document Adhesives properties are significantly affected by the ambi-
deals only with fibre composite materials, the principles ent temperature. Hence higher factors of safety will be
involved should be equally applicable to other materials. The required if the adhesive is used at temperatures higher than
Highways Agency advice document gives guidance on the that at which the properties were determined. No adjustment
design of steel plate b ~ n d i n g ~Some
- ~ . advice on the design of will be required when the ambient temperature is lower than
bonded connections in timber is given in BS 5268: Part P5 the test temperature.
and in the draft EN 199Y. The design of finger joints is cov- Changes at the interface and in the adherend will be more
ered in BS EN 385"'. difficult to quantify. It will be best to eliminate changes wher-
ever possible. For example, the provision of a generous fillet
to the adhesive will help to seal the joint and prevent the
ingress of moisture.
4.3 Safety factors Taking all these considerations into account it can be seen
The safety factors used in the design of an adhesively bonded that it will be necessary to set conservative safety factors to
joint must take into account both the uncertainties associated be applied to the material properties to determine design val-
with the joint as fabricated and also the changes in material ues when considering the design of any adhesive joint. The
properties with time, as follows: EUROCOMP Design suggests a range of partial safe-
ty factors which reflect the various components that go into
uncertainties concerning the assumed stress distribution
in the joint, particularly with complex loadings or com- Table 6 Recommended values for partial safety factors to
bined mechanical and adhesive connections be applied to adhesive properties4"
uncertainties over the magnitude and direction of loads
Source of the adhesive properties Ym 1
applied to the joint
effects of workmanship Typical or textbook values (for appropriate adherends) I .5
changes in properties of the adhesive Values obtained by testing 1.25
changes at the interface affecting the adhesion
possible changes in the adherend, e.g. due to moisture Method of adhesive application Ym2
changes in timber.
Manual application, no adhesive thickness control 1.5
Simple joints have been well studied experimentally, but gen- Manual application,adhesive thickness controlled 1.25
erally at small scale. There may be scale effects when consid- Established application procedure with repeatable and
controlled process parameters 1 .o
ering structural engineering applications, but the joints are
likely to be more efficient as the effects of local stress con- Type of loading Ym3
centrations at the ends will be less dominant. Hence there can
be a high level of confidence in the methods of analysis used, Long-term loading I .5
resulting in the need to apply a relatively low factor of safety. Short-term loading 11.0
With more complex joints it may be necessary to apply
greater factors to account for uncertainties. Environmental conditions I Y d
The determination of the forces applied to the joint will be
part of the overall structural analysis, with partial safety fac-
tors being applied to the loads. In BS 5400 a partial safety
is incorporated, which in the case of Part 4 for
Service conditions outside test conditions

Fatigue loading
I
Adhesive properties determined for the service conditions 2.0
1 .O

Ym5
factor* ridges allows for non-linear resistance of concrete
concrete
by taking the form of a function of the method of analysis. It Loading basically static 1.o
is therefore applied to the calculated forces, whereas in Part 3 Adhesive subjected to significant fatigue loading See
for steel bridges this factor is constant and is applied directly Table 7

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 17

determining the overall factor that should be applied to the
Do Dont
adhesive. In designing the joint, the partial safety factor, ym,
by which the adhesive properties should be divided to give
design values, is given by:
,-=Tor- -=illi====-
where Table 6 gives recommended values for each of the fac-
tors. They are based on the assumption that the safety factor
will be applied to characteristic values for the material prop-
erties.
===I
Where manufacturers supply information about minimum
properties, the factor of 1.25 applied to the Values obtained
by testing in the Table may be reduced slightly, to 1.2.
However, it should be noted that quoted values will gener-
ally apply to standard test conditions. If the in-service temper-
ature differs significantly from that at which the tests were
camed out, an additional factor is applied, see Environmental
i
conditions in the Table.
For connections designed by testing, ym should not be
taken as less than 2.0. For connections subjected to long-term
loading, the overall y should not be less than 4.0.
It should be noted #at other industries use lower factors of
safety for adhesive connections, see Section 6.9.4, but these
are for very different applications, and are made under very
different conditions, and hence are not appropriate for this
!
Guide.

Fig 4 . Acceptable and unacceptable joints

4.4Basis of design
There are many aspects to be considered in the design of an
adhesive joint, which include the geometry of the bonded
area, the selection 0f.a suitable adhesive with the appropriate
properties and a consideration of the stresses to which the
adhesive will be subjected while in service. Mays and
Hutchinson4.*have identified a number of general principles Fig S.Single lap joint
to be adopted when designing a joint as follows:
provide the maximum bond area

-
stress the adhesive in the direction of maximum strength
of the adherend (i.e. in shear or compression) -p
avoid stress concentrations Pt2
make the adhesive layer as uniform as possible to avoid
stress concentrations
maintain a continuous bond line. Fig 6. Double lap joint

The overall geometry of the joint is very important when con-

sidering the second point. The objective must be not only
loading in the direction of maximum strength but also to min-
imise the loads in the weak directions, e.g. those causing
peeling stresses. This is best illustrated by a number of good
and bad joints shown in Fig 4 taken from lee^^.^.
In the simple single lap joint (Fig 5) the lines of action of
the forces in the two members are not coincident and hence
bending is induced into the joint, leading to unwanted peel
stresses at the ends in addition to the local stress concentra- Fig 7. Photoelastic test on single lap joint
tions due to the geometric discontinuities. In a double lap
joint or a double strap joint, see Fig 6, the lines coincide
resulting in pure shear and reducing the peel stresses. In addi- Beam
tion the available bond area is doubled, reducing the length of
the joint.
4 -t G
I

In all adhesive connections, peak stresses exist at the ends I

of the adhesive layer. Their magnitude depends on the rela- stress distribution
tive stiffnesses of the adhesive and the adherends. The stress-
es are illustrated in Fig 7 which shows a photoelastic test on a
single lap joint. The increased fringe orders at the ends of the
adherends show the stress concentrations. In addition the
bending deformation, characteristic of single lap joints, is vis-
ible. Fig 8 shows the shear stress distribution in the adhesive
layer of an externally reinforced concrete beam; the stresses
Distance from plate end
at the end of the plate are significantly higher than the aver-
age stress.
These peaks are taken into account in the design approach Fig 8. Stress distribution in adhesive

18 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

described later, in Sections 4.5 and 4.10. Whichever form of analysis is carried out, it is necessary to
A butt joint is an ineffective form of connection because of ensure that the stresses in the adhesive do not exceed the
the available area to be bonded, see Fig 9. Alternative strength of the material to which it is applied.
approaches are scarf joints or stepped joints as shown in Fig For joints that are standard in a particular form of construc-
10 and 11 Both will require the ends of the members to be tion, design by testing may be an appropriate route, as out-
joined to be machined to the required profile. lined in Section 6.9.4.
Finger joints, as shown in Fig 12, are widely used in tim-
ber. Guidance on their fabrication and performance is given
in BS EN 385 and EN 3874.7.4.10.
For more complicated connections such as angle joints or 4.6 Fatigue loading
tee joints, additional angles will be required to be bonded to Fatigue loading may be a major consideration i n some
the main members to give the joint sufficient strength, see jointPS. The performance of a joint subjected to fatigue will
Figs 13 and 14 respectively. be related to the configuration of the joint and the range of
The peak stresses at the ends of the adhesive layer should stresses that occur in the regions of peak stress. Ideally the
be reduced where possible by applying a suitable chamfer to range of stress variation should be kept below the 'endurance
the ends of the units to be joined and also to the adhesive, as limit', i.e. it should be sufficiently low for fatigue not to be a
shown in Fig 15. The chamfer on the adhesive will, in addi- problem. Typical fatigue curves, determined from different
tion, help to seal the joint and prevent the ingress of moisture. types of adhesively bonded specimens, are shown in Fig 16.
Although the peak stresses can be reduced substantially Fig 17 shows a comparison between the fatigue behaviour
they cannot be eliminated. They will tend to initiate failure of adhesively bonded joints with that of riveted joints; the
and hence increasing the length of a joint beyond a certain adhesive joints have a significantly better response, because
point will not increase the loadcarrying capacity. The basic of the more even distribution of stress.
principle of the design, to resist static loads, is that there Where possible, the fatigue performance of the adhesive
should be an adequate region at a low level of stress in the should be determined by means of tests, under environmental
middle of the joint. conditions similar to those that will be experienced in the
joint. In the absence of test data, the EUROCOMP Code*.'
suggests that the partial safety factors given in Table 6 should
be multiplied by an additional factor ym5, which depends on
4.5 Design methods the level of inspection of the joint in service, as given in
Methods of design, for simple joints, are given in the EURO-
COMP Design Guide and Handbook4.j.A simple approach for
lap and strap joints is given in Section 4.10 of this Guide
which may be used to determine the required bond area. A
more rigorous design method for lap and strap joints is also
given in the EUROCOMP book.
Alternatively, more sophisticated analysis may be carried
out, by using finite elements or similar approaches, which

n,
will lead to a more realistic indication of the stress distribu-
tion in the joint which will result in a more economic design.
A number of standard analysis packages specifically aimed at
adhesive joints are a~ailable~~""~'~.

Fig 13. Angle joint

Fig 9. Butt joint

--I / I-
Fig 10. Scarfjoint

Fig I I. Stepped joint

Fig 14. Tee joint

Fig 12. Finger joints Fig 15. End chamfers

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 19

 fatigue behaviour of plate bonding applications by limiting
the cyclic stresses that may be applied to the reinforcing steel.
It should be noted that cyclic strains applied to an adhesive
during the curing period, for example from traffic loading on
a bridge under repair, are likely to lead to a small reduction in
the strength of the fully cured material.

4.7 Environmental effects

The environmental conditions that influence the creep and
fatigue performance of adhesive joints are the temperature,
humidity and the level of applied stress. It will therefore be
necessary to select an adhesive that is appropriate for the in-
service environment of the joint; guidance is given in Section
3.3. The temperature of the adhesive joint in service must be
below the safe working temperature, as given by the adhesive
manufacturer, taken as 10 or 2OoC below the glass transition
temperature, T . High ambient temperatures will increase the
tendency for t8e adhesive to creep. As a general recommen-
104 105 106 1 dation, the sustained stress in an adhesive bonded joint should
N- be kept below 25% of the short-term strength of the joint for
the normal design life of the structure, as indicated in Section
Fig 16. Fatigue curve for bonded specimens 4.3, in which it is stated that the overall material partial safety
factor should not be less than 4.0.
0.7

0.6 4.8 Fire

c For the design of adhesive joints in fire, it will obviously be
0.5 necessary to consider the behaviour of the adherends as well
2
c as the behaviour of the adhesive itself.
L
0)
It will be necessary to carry out an analysis of the flow of
.-2
- 0.4 heat through the adherends and into the adhesive, working
.
c
z
U)
from a standard time:temperature curve such as that given in
BS 4764.16, for the required fire endurance. The temperature of
c 2 0.3
the adhesive layer must not exceed the safe working tempera-
z
z ture. Above this temperature the resin will start to soften and
0.2 the loadcarrying capacity of the joint will be reduced signifi-
cantly.
Riveted
The temperatures in the adherends under the fire loading
0.1 may be such that their properties are reduced. It will be neces-
sary to determine the capacity of the joint with these reduced
properties. However, this may not necessarily be a design lim-
0 8 I itation as the partial safety factors applied to both the materi-
104 105 106 als and to the applied loads are reduced in fire, which is seen
Number of cycles as an accidental load. For example, guidance for the design of
concrete structures in fire is given in BS 8110 Part 24.7.
For standard adhesive joints, fire testing of representative
specimens may be a more appropriate method for determining
the fire resistance.
Where fire is a major design consideration, a pure adhesive
Degree of inspection Fail-safe Non fail-safe
joints joints joint will not be appropriate, unless the design of the joint is
such that the adhesive can be effectively insulated. It will be
Periodic inspection, good access 1.5 2.0 necessary to design a combined joint, with the mechanical
Periodic inspection, poor access connection required to carry all the load in fire, taking into
No inspection/maintenance account the reduced partial safety factors mentioned above,
and assuming that the adhesive is no longer effective.
Table 7. (Note: I n the EUROCOMP Code the factor is
referred to as ym4, which may cause some confusion).
Further information on non-destructive testing, which should 4.9 Proprietary systems
form part of any inspection process, is given in Section 6.9.3.
The values in Table 7 are for fibre composite materials but Proprietary systems, such as resin anchors for fixing into con-
may be taken as being appropriate for adhesives, in the crete or masonry, and the fixing of dowels and starter bars
absence of other guidance. Fail-safe joints are such that fail- using adhesives, are outside the scope of this Guide.
ure does not result in failure of the structure, or large sections However, the factors that affect the adhesive in a structural
of it. Non-fail-safe joints are those for which failure will connection between two elements will equally affect the resin
result in failure of the structure, or large sections of it. in a proprietary anchor. Hence the designer should be satis-
In addition to checking the behaviour of the adhesive under fied that the system is installed and used strictly in accor-
fatigue loading, it will be necessary to consider the fatigue dance with the manufacturers recommendations. Particular
behaviour of the substrate material. The latter may be the attention should be paid to factors such as the magnitude and
governing factor in some circumstances; the Highways direction of loading, the working temperature and the ambient
Agency Bridge Advice document BA 30/944.4controls the humidity.

20 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 I 1 I I

I
Determine suitability of using
adhesives I -I
I I
Section 2.4
I
I

r +zDetermine suitable geometry Section 4.4

I 1 I 1

bonded, service conditions,

-. I
1
Select appropriate
adhesives
I 1
Chapters 3 & 7
I

Calculate load on joint

shear stress
-L Sections 4.5 & 4.1 0

Ambient conditions,
workmanship, duration of
loading
Determine appropriate partial
safety factors
4 Section 4.3

Determine required bonded

type of adhesive,
HSE requirements
surface preparation,
temDorarv SUDDO~~S. etc
+ I Section 6.3 and Chapter 7

L + Prepare method statement Section 6.1

Fig 18. Flow chart for the design of an adhesive joint

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 21

 _ .
4.10 Summary of design method for simple 4.15 Mays. G . C.: Fatigue and creep pe$ormance of epoxy
joints in shear resin adhesive joints. Crowthorne: Transport and Road
Research Laboratory, Contractor Report 224, 1990
In the absence of a more detailed approach, the steps in the 4.16 BS 476: Part 20: Fire tests on building materials and
design approach for simple joints in shear at the ultimate limit structures. Part 20: Method for determination of the
state will be as follows. The process is also shown in the flow fire resistance of elements of construction (general
chart in Fig 18. principles). London: BSI, 1987
4.17 BS 81 10: Part 2: 1985: Structural use of concrete. Part 2:
determine the shear load to be carried by the joint under Code of practice for special circumstances. London:
the appropriate loads applied to the structure, multiplied BSI, 1985
by the appropriate load factors yf
assume a uniform distribution of stress in the adhesive
layer and hence determine the required adhesive stress
multiply this stress by a factor of 5 to allow for differ-
ences between the assumed uniform stress distribution
and the actual distribution to obtain a design stress due to
the applied load
determine the ultimate shear stress for the adhesive from
test specimens or from manufacturers literature as
appropriate
divide this value by the appropriate partial safety factors
as given in Table 6 to obtain the design shear capacity of
the adhesive
compare the design shear stress with the design shear
capacity to determine the required bond area.
Guidance on design is also given in Section 4.5.

4.11. .References
4.1 BS EN I S 0 10365: 1995. Adhesives. Designation of
main failure patterns. London: BSI, 1995
4.2 Adams, R. D., Comyn, J., Wake, K. C.: Structural
adhesive joints in engineering, 2nd edn. London:
Chapman and Hall, 1997
4.3 Clarke, J. L. ed.: Structural design of polymer composites -
EUROCOMP design code and handbook. London: Spon,
1996
4.4 BA30194: Strengthening of concrete highway bridges
using externally bonded plates. Department of
Transport and others Advice Note BA30/94. London:
HMSO, 1994
4.5 BS 5268: Part 2: 1996. Structural use of timber. Part 2:
Code of practice for permissible stress design, materials
and workmanship. London: BSI, 1996
4.6 prENV 1995-1 - 1: Design of timber structures. Annex
A: Glued in steel rods. London: BSI, 1994 & 1998
4.7 BS EN 385: 1995. Finger jointed structural timber.
Performance requirements and minimum production
requirements. London: BSI, 1995
4.8 Mays, G. C., Hutchinson, A. R.: Adhesives in civil
engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1992
4.9 Lees, W. A. ed.: Adhesives and the engineer. London:
Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, 1989
4.10 prEN 387: Glued laminated timber - production
requirements for large finger joints. Performance
requirements and minimum production requirements.
London: BSI, 1991
4.1 1 ESDU: Report No. 78042, Shear stresses in the adhesives
in bonded joints. London: Engineering Science Data
Unit, 1978
4.12 ESDU: Report No. 79016 (with Amendment A),
tnelastic shear stresses and strains in the adhesives
bonding lap joints in tension or shear. London:
Engineering Science Data Unit, 1997
4.13 ESDU: Report No. 80039 (with Amendments A and
B), Elastic adhesive stresses in multistep lap joints
loaded in tension. London: Engineering Science Data
Unit, 1995
4.14 ESDU: Report No. 9204 I , Stress analysis of single lap
bonded joints. London: Engineering Science Data
Unit, 1997

22 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

-\
5 Behaviour of combined adhesive/
mechanical joints
5.1 Introduction and review of combined to loads in various directions. For example, the shear may be
behaviour carried by the adhesive but direct tensions, that would tend to
open up the joint, will be best carried by mechanical means.
There are situations in which it may appear to be beneficial to At the ends of adhesively bonded lap joints relatively high
use adhesives to improve the performance of a mechanical peel stresses are developed. Mechanical fasteners in these
connection or to use mechanical means to improve an adhe- locations can be used to carry the transverse loads and hence
sive connection. For example, a bolted connection will have a reduce the peel stresses from the bolted connections. Fig 19
high ultimate capacity once all the bolts are acting in bearing. shows part of the elevation of Bures Bridge, a cast iron struc-
However, to achieve this, some slip between the joined mem- ture that was strengthened with bonded steel plates, as
bers will be necessary, which may not be acceptable under described in Section 9.3.4. Bolts and clamps were used to
service conditions. Hence the use of an adhesive to provide a hold the plates in position. Fig 20 shows measured stresses
more reliable behaviour than friction to enhance the service- from a plated cast iron test beam, demonstrating the effect of
ability behaviour would appear to be an attractive option. the adhesive on the stresses in the plate. It should be noted
Work has been carried out on connections in steel structures that, as mechanical fasteners will generally only be provided
using a combination of bonding and bolting5.'. They lead to over a limited length of the joint, they could not be relied
the conclusion that initially the load is transferred by bond upon in the event of failure of the adhesive.
but, once the adhesive fails, all the load is carried by the With certain materials, there is considerable scope for the
bolts; the strengths of the adhesive and the bolts are not addi- development of special forms of connection which utilise
tive. This would appear to be a general conclusion; because adhesives to carry the shear stresses and mechanical interlock
of the large bonded area, the effective stiffness of the adhe- to carry the loads in the transverse direction. One example of
sive will generally be greater than that of the bolts or other this is the connection in the Advanced Composite Construction
mechanical connectors. Hence the adhesive carries the major- System which consists of pultruded fibre composite elements
ity of the load under normal conditions while the bolts will joined by a bonded dumbbell-shaped insert as shown in Fig
carry the loads once the capacity of the adhesive has been 21. Examples of the application of this system for the con-
exceeded. struction of buildings and bridges are given in Sections 8.2.5
Similarly, where bolts, nails or similar are used to hold the and 8.3.4 respectively.
two parts of a bonded connection together while the adhesive It has been shown that the introduction of an adhesive into
cures one might be tempted to assume that the two are com- a bolted connection can significantly increase the fatigue
plementary. However, the design methods for timber connec- life'.J. One practical implication of this is that fewer bolts
tions generally ignore the contribution of nails and screws would be required to ensure a given fatigue life. Thus the
passing through the joint5.*even though they may carry stress- overall size of the connection could be reduced without low-
es perpendicular to the joint and hence enhance the actual ering the fatigue life.
behaviour. The one exception is that specially formulated A purely adhesive solution may not be suitable for joints in
adhesives, with a more compatible stiffness, are used in North structures for which fire is a design consideration; mechanical
America to fix timber in floors, walls and roofs, in conjunc- fasteners, such as bolts, could be used in this case to carry the
tion with nails. Here design methods have been developed loads in fire, on the assumption that the adhesive would fail.
which take into account the contribution of both the nails and
the adhesive.
The conclusion from the above, which holds good for other
materials such as fibre composites, is that the strengths of the 5.3 Situations in which combined joints will
adhesive and the mechanical connectors should not be consid- be ineffective
ered as additive. However, there are situations where combined If a stiff connection is needed in a structure that will be
joints may be beneficial, as outlined in the following Section. required to operate at high temperatures, the use of a com-
bined adhesive/mechanical joint will be unsatisfactory as the
adhesive will soften, leading to a reduced joint stiffness.
5.2 Situations in which combined joints may The use of adhesive in a combined joint will generally lead
be beneficial to a stiffer connection which may thus attract more load to
itself and to neighbouring members. This will change the
The primary reason for using a combination of mechanical overall behaviour of the structure and could cause problems
and adhesive connection will be where the joint is subjected elsewhere.

Cut pockets in brick jack

arches to accomodate
Springing level of Lindaptor clamps
brick jack arches

Fig 19. Elevation of Bures Bridge

IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 120 1

.E

-
t
m
-0.
100 -

B
m
U
80 - Theoretical plate stress
assuming fully composite
-
I
I
<-
?i
3
60-
action and plate extended
to supports
0
/
Theoretical plate stress
using lattice beam analogy
/
/
-
-
m
40-

/
Experimental observations

z
c 20 - /
/
I- /
/
I I I I r I 1 I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance along beam from support (mm)

Fig 20. Tensile stresses in bonded-bolted connection

3-way connector Groove connector Flat trimmer Channel connector

Fig 21. Details of the Advanced Composite Construction System

Combined joints, or purely bonded joints, will be inappro-

priate in situations in which good electrical continuity is
required, such as process plant which must be earthed; adhe-
sives filled with suitable metals, which would provide electri-
cal continuity, are available but are very expensive.

5.4 References
5.1 Albrecht, P., Sahli, A. H.: Static strength of bolted
and adhesively bonded joints for steel structures. In:
Johnson, W.S. ed.: Adhesively bonded joints: testing,
analysis and design, ASTM STP 98 1. Philadelphia:
American Society for Testing and Materials, 1988,
~229-25 1
5.2 TRADA: Structural glued joints in timber. Wood
information, Section 2/3, Sheet 3 1, High Wycombe:
Timber Research and Development Association, 1992
5.3 Albrecht, P., Sahli, A. H.: Fatigue strength of bolted
and adhesive bonded structural steel joints. In:
Fatigue in mechanically fastened composite and
metallic joints, ASTM STP 927. Philadelphia:
American Society for Testing and Materials, 1986,
p72-94

24 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 .:.

6 Fabrication of joints

6.1 Quality assurance

A full method statement should be prepared by the Structural
Engineer, in consultation with the adhesive supplier and/or Material Target joint thickness (mm)
contractor, dealing with all the factors required to form a sat-
isfactory bonded connection. This should include: Concrete 1 -5 I
Timber
selection of appropriate materials, including both the in the factory 0.2 - 1.5
adhesive to be used and any materials used in the prepa- in repairs 1 -5
ration of the surfaces to be bonded, such as degreasing Metals 0.2 - 2
agents and primers Reinforced plastics 0.2 - 2
preparation of the surfaces to be joined Glass 0.2 - 1.5
method of mixing and application of the adhesive
appropriate levels of competence for the staff carrying are adequately prepared, to ensure both initial adhesion and
out the work and levels of supervision required (see also long-term joint durability. This is particularly the case when
Section 10.5) the joint is located in an aggressive environment. It is impor-
control of environment, or specified limits on ambient tant to understand that many adhesives are blamed for not
conditions, for storage of materials, during surface prepa- sticking when the main cause of the problem is usually inad-
ration and during application and curing of the adhesive equate surface preparation.
requirements for any temporary props, clamps or other The various tasks may be outlined as follows:
supports
requirements for inspection and testing removal of contaminants, rust, paint, grease, oils or any
any Health and Safety requirements, over and above weak layers (e.g. concrete laitance) that will reduce the
those specified by the manufacturers of the adhesive and adhesion to the adherend
any other materials used removal of mould release agents or other similar materi-
als used in the fabrication process
A flow chart giving the various steps in the process of prepar- removal of any dust and neutralising of any chemicals
ing and assembling the joint is given in Fig 22. used for cleaning the surface
It is particularly important that adhesive connections should drying of substrates such as concrete, timber and polymer
be made by adequately trained staff. The method statement composites
should state clearly who is responsible for ensuring that cor- assessing the quality and roughness of the surface finish
rect procedures have been carried out under the required con- priming the surface ready for the application of the adhe-
ditions. It may be appropriate to make trial connections, sive, where necessary
under realistic conditions, which can be tested to demonstrate
the competence of the staff involved and the appropriateness The preparation of the surface should be such as to produce a
of the chosen procedures, see Section 6.9. uniform thickness of the adhesive layer. The thickness of the
joint that should be aimed for in the preparation of the sur-
faces will depend on the materials being joined. Target joint
6.2 Selection of adhesive thicknesses are given in Table 8.
Suitable methods of surface preparation are given in
The selection of the adhesive to be used in a particular appli- Chapter 7 for all common construction materials. In addition,
cation will be governed by the following factors: advice should be sought from the manufacturer of the adhe-
sive to be used. For materials not given in Chapter 7 it will be
the materials to be joined and the nature of their surfaces necessary to carry out large-scale trials to demonstrate the
the type and magnitude of the loading to be applied to the suitability of the selected method of surface preparation.
joint A considerable amount of information of the effects of sur-
the thickness of the adhesive in the completed joint face preparation was assembled in a recent DTI project on the
the environment at the time that the joint is formed performance of adhesive joints63.Some comparisons of the
the environment during the life of the structure effects of surface preparation on the short- and long-term
any special requirements, such as speed of fabrication or shear strength of joints are given in Chapter 7.
gap filling
any special Health and Safety restrictions

General information on adhesives is given in Chapter 3. 6.4 Evaluation of surface condition

Details of the types of adhesives appropriate to various mate- Prior to bonding, the surface should be visually inspected to
rials, loading conditions, environments, etc., are outlined in check that any contaminants have been removed and that the
Chapter 7. A number of adhesive selection software packages surface would appear to be uniform. Where appropriate, such
are available, though these should be used with caution as as when bonding to concrete or timber, it will be necessary to
they may be biased towards a particular manufacturers prod- ensure that the exposed substrate is sound. If it is not sound,
ucts6.-. substandard areas will have to be repaired or the whole sur-
face preparation taken to a sufficient depth such that the sub-
standard area is removed.
6.3 Surface preparation A simple way to check the preparation of a non-absorbent
surface prior to applying the adhesive is to carry out a surface
To ensure that the adhesive connection behaves efficiently, it wetting or water-break test. In this, a few drops of distilled
is essential that the surfaces of the elements to be connected water are placed on the surface; if the drops spread out over

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 25

 including CDM regulations
Prepare surfaces to be
bonded and prepare any
- ISection 6.3 and Chapter 7 for
specific materials

1
-L
Evaluate surface condition and
bond any control Sections 6.4 and 6.9.2

J
Follow manufacturers
recommendationsand I Apply primer if required I I
material
I

Follow manufacturers
J
Mix and apply adhesive,
recommendationsand prepare standard control Sections 6.5 and 6.9.2

1
I Assemble components
I +I Section 6.7

J
Maintain suitable ambient
conditions in the joint during
curing
Apply suitable clamps or
support to maintain location
of components
-7 Section 6.8

J
I I
I
Visually inspect joint and
carry out any appropriate
NDT I + Sections 6.7 and 6.9.3

1
At end of cure period,
remove all clamps and

1
Carry out proof load test if
required
+ Sections 6.9.4 and 6.9.5

Fig 22. Flow chart for the preparation and assembly of adhesive joints

26 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 , '.*. ,
..
? C I

the surface then the preparation is adequate and the adhesive Application of the adhesive on to the substrate should also
will similarly wet the surface. be in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Alternatively the surface condition may be evaluated indi- Fig 25 shows adhesive being applied to a plate. The volume
rectly by using the same surface preparation technique to pre- of adhesive mixed at a given time must be such that it may
pare control samples, which may then be bonded and tested, be applied and the surfaces brought together before the pot
as indicated in Section 6.9.2. life of the adhesive has been exceeded. Any excess adhesive
For concrete, BS 1881: Part 207"' gives a method for pull- remaining at the end of the specified pot life must be discard-
off testing which may be used to give a measure 06f, the sur- ed.
face quality. Guidance for steel is given in BS 7079 ; though In general, standard control samples should be prepared to
specifically intended for paints, the approach is equally valid check the properties of the adhesive, see Section 6.9.2.
for adhesives. Fig 26 shows adhesive tape being fitted to a metal frame-
work to support mirror-finished ceiling tiles in an American
airport building.
6.5 Mixing and application of adhesive
The storage of materials prior to mixing and the actual mixing 6.6 Environmental conditions
of the adhesive should be strictly in accordance with the man-
ufacturer's instructions. In particular, the amounts of materi- It will generally be necessary to control the environment sur-
als mixed at any one time should not exceed the amounts rounding the adhesively bonded connection during the prepa-
specified by the manufacturer, as larger volumes will lead to ration of the surface, the application of the adhesive and the
higher temperatures being generated, resulting in a reduced subsequent curing period. Control during surface preparation
pot life. Thus pre-batched quantities of resins and hardeners will generally consist of a system to extract dust and fumes
should be used to minimise mixing problems. In addition, the from the work area and the exclusion of any material that
recommended method of mixing, e.g. the use of a power dri- might contaminate the prepared surface. The latter may be
ven mixer, see Fig 23, should be used wherever possible. something as simple as moisture; it may be necessary to
Some two-component adhesives are supplied in cartridges warm the surface to prevent condensation. Some guidance,
for use in applicator guns, which may be manual or air-pow- for steel substrates, is given in Part B4 of BS 70796'5.
ered. The two components are extruded through a mixing During curing of the adhesive it may be necessary to main-
nozzle, which ensures that they are thoroughly mixed, in the tain the temperature in the glue line at an appropriate level for
correct proportions, see Fig 24. a specified period of time, in accordance with the require-
ments of the manufacturer of the adhesive. Lower glue-line
temperatures will result in longer cure times. However, it is
particularly important that the maximum temperature speci-
fied by the manufacturer is not exceeded during the curing
period as this may result in a joint with poor long-term prop-

Fig 23. Mixing adhesive using power drill attachment

Fig 25. Adhesives being applied to a plate

Fig 24. Applicator guns for adhesives Fig 26. Application of adhesive tapes

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 21

erties. Similarly, the temperature should not drop below the
minimum specified by the manufacturer; this may result in an
adhesive which appears to be satisfactory but in fact has a
low strength.
While maintaining environmental conditions will be rela-
tively straightforward if the joint is being made in the work-
shop, it will be more difficult on site. Here it may be neces-
sary to create a controlled zone around the joint, by means of
a temporary enclosure which can be fitted with the necessary
heating equipment, etc.
As part of the quality assurance scheme, see Section 6.1,
records of temperature and, where appropriate, humidity
should be maintained throughout the period of work.
The environmental conditions which may be required with
particular materials and adhesives are outlined in Chapter 7.

6.7 Assembly and visual inspection

The adhesive should be applied to the substrate and the com-
ponents brought together in such a manner that forming the
joint leads to a uniform adhesive layer over the whole area. Fig 27. Positioning of external reinforcement
For example, the applied adhesive should be slightly domed loadcarrying capacity of the joint at a later stage. The same
in the middle, so that it will be squeezed towards the edges of will apply in connections involving combined mechanical
the joint. In some cases a carrier, which consists of a thin interlocking and bonding.
layer of woven material, may be used to reduce trapped air in
the adhesive. Immediately after assembly, the joint should be
inspected. The aim is to ensure that there is a continuous and
uniform layer of adhesive visible all round the joint. In some 6.9 Proof testing
situations the uniformity of the adhesive layer over the area
can be checked by tapping the bonded material once the joint
has been formed. 6.9.1 Introduction
In lap joints the adhesive should be formed into a fillet, Testing will generally be required as part of the quality con-
which leads to extra protection against moisture ingress to the trol process and will consist of some, or all, of the following:
joint.
Care must be taken to ensure that the surfaces are brought tests on standard control samples
together within the period specified by the manufacturer of non-destructive tests on connections
the adhesive. tests on prototype connections
Fig 27 shows bonded external reinforcement being positioned. tests on selected connections on site

The amount and complexity of testing that is to be carried out

should be agreed between the engineer and the contractor.
6.8 Support systems The extent of the testing required will depend on the signifi-
Where the adhesive in the joint may be subjected to a shear or cance of the structure and the degree to which the behaviour
tensile load before it has fully cured, the joint should be fixed of the structure is influenced by the behaviour of the adhesive
by means of suitable clamps, props, etc., until the adhesive in the connection. It will also depend on previous experience
has reached an adequate strength. This may be of the order of of the materials being used and of the type of connection
12 hours after making the joint; information on the rate of being considered. Testing of specially prepared specimens
gain in strength under the appropriate temperature should be can also be used as a method of determining the competence
obtained from the manufacturer. of the staff carrying out the work.
As indicated in Section 4.6, cyclic strains applied to an It is important that, before undertaking any programme of
adhesive during the curing period are likely to lead to a small testing, a clear test plan should be drawn up and agreed by all
reduction in the strength of the fully cured material. Thus any concerned. It will be necessary to make clear distinction
support system should be designed so as to eliminate such between those tests that are part of the manufacturing process
stresses. However, in repairs it may be difficult to avoid some of components, such as glulam beams, and those that are con-
stress variation in the cured adhesive, for example from traf- cerned with the construction, i.e. adhesive connections
fic loading on a bridge. In this situation, an allowance for the between components, either in the factory or on site.
resulting reduction in strength must be made in the design
process. 6.9.2 Standard control samples
It is important that the load applied by any support or Tests should be carried out on standard test samples, in accor-
clamping system is such that it does not cause local damage dance with agreed National or International Standards to con-
to the adherend. This is particularly important for fibre com- firm the properties of the materials used. This will apply to
posite materials, which have a low interlaminar tensile both manufactured components, e.g. glulam beams, as well as
strength. adhesives; the latter should be tested in accordance with the
For a joint subjected to a significant compressive load, relevant Standards. Where the structure will be subjected to
shims may be required to prevent the adhesive being abnormal environmental conditions, such as elevated temper-
squeezed out. To avoid the creation of hard points in the com- atures, high moisture or cyclic conditions, consideration
pleted joint, which could lead to stress concentrations, the should be given to carrying out control sample tests under
shims should generally be removed once the adhesive has appropriate conditions rather than those specified in the
cured, unless the stiffness of the shim material is less than agreed Standard.
that of the fully cured adhesive. Tests should be carried out t9Fheck that the adhesive itself
In combined joints, such as bolted/bonded joints as dis- conforms with the specification . Shear tests, using appropri-
cussed in Chapter 5 , the clamping may provide part of the ate adherends correctly prepared, can be used to demonstrate

28 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

the properties of the adhesive"""". factors should always be used in construction, see Section
Tests may be carried out for the following purposes: 4.3.
Because the efficiency of the connection will generally
to check the adhesive properties when mixed and cured depend to a large extent on the workmanship, care should be
under actual conditions of use, using standard adherends taken to ensure that the process of forming the connection is
prepared in a standard manner representative of that which will be found in practice, includ-
to check the adhesion, using adherends of the same mate- ing surface preparation and curing of the adhesive.
rial as those in the actual structure, prepared in the same Generally testing should be carried out on full-scale con-
manner and under the same conditions. This is an indi- nections. Tests on limited parts of connections, or on scale
rect method of evaluating the surface condition, see models of connections, may be carried out where experience
Section 6.4. has shown that the results may be related to the full connec-
tion with reasonable accuracy.
For manufactured components, proof testing of standard con- If the testing is part of a development programme, consid-
trol samples should form part of the Quality Assurance eration should be given to testing a range of skill levels and a
scheme for the manufacturing process. range of variations in making the connection, such as differ-
EN 1504"' will be a product standard for materials involved ent ambient conditions.
in the repair and protection of concrete. It will concentrate on Wherever possible, prototype specimens should be subject-
laboratory tests required for repair materials, including mate- ed to long-term loading, in a representative environment, so
rials for structural bonding. that the effects of creep and other similar phenomena on the
BA 30/94" gives guidance on the material testing required
'O behaviour of the joint may be determined.
for steel plate bonding to concrete bridges. Testing of the connection is unlikely to be covered by cur-
rent National or International Standards. Hence the test method
should be carefully chosen so that it adequately represents the
6.9.3 Non-destructive tests on connections loadings that will be applied in service. Where appropriate,
Various non-destructive tests may be, !sed to inspect a com- the testing should be carried out at realistic ambient condi-
pleted adhesively bonded connection . The most commonly tions. The number of connections to be tested under a particu-
used methods, such as ultrasonic techniques or pulse ther- lar loading will depend on the scatter of results obtained; suf-
mography, are able to detect voids and areas of cracking in ficient tests will be required so that statistical methods can be
the adhesive. They may also be able to identify areas of dis- used to set a level of confidence to the results obtained.
bonding between the adhesive and the adherend. For thin
materials, such as bonded steel plates, tapping the surface can
give an indication of voids in the adhesive. However, there 6.9.5 Testing connections on site
are currently no non-destructive methods that are capable of It may be appropriate to test representative connections on
detecting poor adhesion, which might lead to failure of the site. Where the connection forms part of a strengthening sys-
joint in the long term. Techniques are being developed that tem, it may be appropriate to load test the complete struc-
propagate ultrasound along the length of the adhesive joint, ture. In general the structure should be loaded to slightly
rather than through the joint, which have the potential to above its service load; guidance, for concrete structures, is
inspect the bond line. This latter type of test may be more given in BS 81 10: Part 2"'*. Draft guidance on the load test-
appropriate to connections in structures, in which the thick- ing of bridges is being prepared by the Highways Agency.
ness of the elements being joined will generally be signifi- Where the connection is a prototype, and does not form a
cantly greater than in applications in the automotive or aero- part of the completed structure, it may be appropriate to load
space industries. it to the design ultimate load. This will give confidence that
It has been suggested that, where there may be doubts the connections in the actual structure are capable of perform-
about the long-term behaviour, non-destructive tests should ing satisfactorily. Unless a linear behaviour up to collapse of
be used during periodic inspections to assess the durability of the connection can be assumed, such tests give little indica-
adhesive connections, particularly those in aggressive situa- tion of the ultimate margin of safety. However, they confirm
tions6.'*.The aim would be to correlate the in situ performance that a premature failure will not occur.
of the adhesive with that in bonded joints under standard con- When considering testing connections on site, it should be
ditions of exposure. borne in mind that it is likely to be costly and time-consum-
This is obviously an area that needs considerable develop- ing. It is thus unlikely that site testing would generally be a
ment; simple, non-destructive tests that could be used to regular requirement, though some suppliers of resin bonded
check the in-service behaviour of connections would signifi- dowel bar systems do provide a service.
cantly increase confidence in the structural use of adhesives.

6.9.4 Testing prototype connections 6.10 References

Testing of connections will be required when a new technique
is being developed or where new materials are being used. 6.1 PAL - Adhesive selection software. Eastleigh:
Testing may also be required when the staff carrying out the Permabond UK
work are unfamiliar with the materials or the techniques 6.2 EASel - Engineers adhesive selector.
being used. AbingtodEastleigh: TWUPermabond UK, 1998
The draft EN 1990"13 has an extensive Annex, Design 6.3 The performance of adhesive joints; Project 3 ,
assisted by testing, which gives guidance on the evaluation of Environmental durability of adhesive bonds, Project 4 ,
the test results and the derivation of appropriate design Characterisation of surface condition. London:
strengths. In some other industries in which adhesive connec- Department of Trade and Industry, Various reports
tions are used, design by testing is the preferred option. For dated 1993-1996
example, in space satellites standard types of connection are 6.4 BS 1881: Part 207: 1992: Testing concrete: Part 207:
widely used. The strength of a particular connection is deter- Recommendations f o r the assessment of concrete
mined from a minimum of 10 specimens, the data being used strength by near-to-surface tests. London: BSI, 1992
to calibrate analytical approaches which can then be used to 6.5 BS 7079: Preparation of steel substrates before application
extend the results to other similar connections. A low factor of paint and related products. London: BSI.
of safety can then be used for the adhesive connection, typi- 6.6 BS EN 302: Adhesivesfor ioad-bearing timber structures:
cally 1.5. However, it should be stressed that all assembly is test methods. London: BSI
carried out in conditions of cleanliness far removed from 6.7 BS 5350: Methods of test for adhesives: GroupC:
those found in the Construction Industry and hence higher adhesively bonded joints: mechanical tests: Part C5 :

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 29

 1990 (1997): Determination of bond strength in
longitudinal shear; Part C 15: I990 ( 1997):
Determination of bond strength in compressive shear.
London: BSI
6.8 ASTM C882-91: Test method for bond strength of
epoxy-resin systems used with concrete by slant shear.
West Conshohocken: American Society for Testing
and Materials, 1991
6.9 prEN 1504: Products and systems for the protection
and repair of concrete structure. Part 1, General scope
and definitions; Part 2, Surface protection; Part 3,
Structural and non-structural repair; Part 4,
Structural bonding; Part 5, Concrete injection; Part 6,
Grouting to anchor reinforcement or to fill external
voids; Part 7, Reinforcement corrosion prevention;
Part 8, Quality control and evaluation of conformity; Part 9,
General principles for use of products and systems;
Part 10, Site application of products and systems and
quality control of the works. London: BSI
6.10 BA30194: Strengthening of concrete highway bridges
using externally bonded plates. Department of
Transport, and others, Advice Note. London: HMSO,
1994
6.11 Munns, 1.: Adhesive bond inspection using non-
destructive testing. Materials World, November 1995,
p527-529
6.12 Davies, C. M.: The durability of adhesive bonds in
structural applications. In: Armer, G. S. T., Clarke, J.
L., Garas, F. K.: The life of structures; physical testing.
London: Butterworths, 1989, p272-280
6.13 ENV 1991: Basis of design and actions on structures
(Eurocode 1). London: BSI
6.14 BS 81 10: Part 2: 1985: Structural use of concrete. Part 2 ,
Code of practice for special circumstances. London:
BSI, 1985

30 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

7 Connections between various materials

7.1 Introduction which would lead to a plane of weakness and hence a reduc-
tion in the strength of the adhesive connection. The surface
This Chapter covers the various specific requirements when should not be polished or unnecessarily roughened.
using adhesives with various structural materials, including The various steps in the process of surface preparation
an outline of the required properties, and indicates any special should be as follows:
techniques that are required, such as surface preparation.
Each structural material is considered in turn. More detailed remove any damaged or substandard concrete, e.g. hon-
information and guidance will be provided by the manufac- eycombed areas, and reinstate with good quality material
turer of the selected adhesive, which should be followed at all remove laitance by shot- or grit-blasting or water jetting
times. Hussey and Wilson7.' have prepared a guide giving (the use of bush-hammering or needle-gunning is not rec-
details of a wide range of adhesives, data sheets, trade names, ommended as it carries a significant risk of damage to the
etc. underlying concrete)
In some cases the adhesive will be used to form the connec- remove dust and debris by brushing, by oil-free air blast
tion between two elements of the same material, but in others or preferably by vacuum cleaner
it will be used to join two different materials. In this latter if necessary, clean, with a suitable uncontaminated sol-
case, the selection of the adhesive is likely to be something of vent, to remove any remaining contaminant
a compromise; this is considered in Section 7.10. if necessary, dry the surface to be bonded
Of particular concern in the selection of a suitable adhesive apply a levelling layer and fill any holes in the substrate,
for a particular application will be its strain to failure, which if necessary
must be greater than that of the adherend. Thus an adhesive apply a suitable primer, if required by the adhesive man-
with a relatively low strain will be sufficient for concrete, ufacturer.
provided that it has an adequate strength, but one with a much
higher strain is required when bonding composites. After preparation, the suitability of the surface should be
This Chapter gives details of the surface preparation that checked by means of pull-off or twist-off tests. These consist
will be required for various common structural materials. The of small steel plates bonded to the surface and loaded, in pure
guidance given only covers the main steps in the process. As tension or torsion, until failure occurs. Though the stresses in
has been emphasised earlier, correct surface preparation is neither test are truly representative of those in the adhesive
essential for the satisfactory long-term performance of the joint they do give a good indication of the likely behaviour.
joint. It is therefore important that any detailed requirements Further guidance on the use of epoxy adhesives and a stan-
specified by the manufacturer of the adhesive should be satis- dard form of specification may be found in ACI 503R and
fied. 503. 17.*.7.3. A general method for assessing the bond strength
Suitable types of adhesive are indicated for each structural of epoxy adhesive is given in ASTM C8827.4.
material. It will be necessary to obtain detailed guidance on Fig 28 shows a concrete surface being grit-blasted and Fig 29
the most suitable formulation from the manufacturer. shows schematically a cross-section through a concrete sur-
General requirements for the fabrication of joints, including face before and after preparation, showing the removal of the
quality assurance, proof testing and other matters, are given weak, cement-rich, surface layer to expose the firm layer
in Chapter 6 . Where necessary, aspects of the assembly that below.
are of particular importance for the material being considered
are also included.
7.2.2 Selection of adhesive
The adhesives most commonly used with concrete are epox-
ies, while fixings and anchors often use polyesters. Because
7.2 Concrete of the highly alkaline nature of concrete, polyurethane-based

7.2.1 Surface preparation

Concrete has a cement-rich skin or laitance on the surface,
particularly the upper surface as cast. Faces that have been
cast against a mould are likely to be contaminated by the
residues of mould release oils. In addition, chemical curing
agents are widely applied to surfaces, particularly the top sur-
face of floor slabs. These various surface contaminants must
be removed, along with the laitance, to ensure good adhesion
with the adhesive. Finally surface treatments may be applied
to the surface of exposed concrete to restrict the ingress of
aggressive chemicals. These may not be detrimental to the
performance of the adhesive, but advice should always be
sought from the manufacturer.
Before carrying out any surface preparation, it may be nec-
essary to check the integrity of the concrete, by .coring or by
carrying out suitable non-destructive tests, to determine if
there is any delamination or other near-surface defects that
may affect the strength of the adhesive joint. This is likely to
be particularly applicable to repair. It is important that the
preparation process selected is such that it removes the sur-
face layer to expose small particles of aggregate without
causing micro-cracks or other damage in the layer below,
Fig 28. Grit-blasting concrete

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 31

 degrease with suitable solvent
abrade the surface to remove mill-scale and metal oxides
Weak cement - rich layer by wire brushing, using an abrasive disc or, preferably,
by grit-blasting; very high pressure water-jetting may
also be used
remove dust and debris by brushing, by oil-free air blast
or preferably by vacuum cleaner
dry the surface
apply a suitable primer, if required by the adhesive man-
Before treatment ufacturer, or if there is to be a delay before the applica-
1Omm tion of the adhesive.
H

Further guidance may be found in BS 70797.5,BS EN 127687.6

and ASTM D265 17.7.
Fig 30 shows the effect of three different surface treatments
on the roughness of a mild steel surface. Clearly the choice of
the grit size in the two grit-blasting treatments has a signifi-
After treatment
cant effect on the final surface profile. The choice of surface
treatment has a significant effect on both the short-term
strength and also the long-term strength, as illustrated in
Table 9 which shows shear strengths for 3 treatments and 3
Fig 29. Concrete surface before and after preparation different adhesives.
materials are generally not suitable for structural connections,
though they are often used in non-structural applications such 7.3.2 Selection of adhesive
as floor toppings. Advice should be obtained from the manu- The most suitable adhesives for fully structural applications
facturer. will be epoxies. For semi-structural applications in which
high strength is not required, acrylic or polyurethane adhe-
7.2.3 Assembly sives may be appropriate, though not in applications of high
With highly porous concretes a large proportion of the adhe- humidity or those in which creep can have a significant
sive may be absorbed, leaving too little in the joint. In this sit- effect. Advice should be sought from the manufacturer.
uation, the concrete should be given two coats of adhesive, Table 9, based on data from Project 3 of reference 7.8,
the second being applied while the first is still tacky7.*. shows the effect of the choice of the adhesive on the initial
Because of the likely weight of the units being joined, they shear strength and also the long-term strength, after 60 weeks
should be rigidly supported during the curing of the adhesive in water at 6OOC. The properties are shown for 3 particular
to eliminate any relative movement at the joint and to avoid adhesives with different surface treatments. The values given
significant stresses in the adhesive. are indicative of the differences between the various cornbina-
tions considered and should not be used for design purposes.

7.3 Steel and cast iron

7.4 Zinc-coated steel
7.3.1 Surface preparation
The purpose of the surface treatment is to remove any weak 7.4.1 Surface preparation
or loosely bonded oxide layers. There are many different Galvanising and similar processes for applying a layer of zinc
techniques used in manufacturing industry for surface treat- to the surface of the steel produce a material less prone to
ment but many of them, such as those involving dipping or rusting in most environments. A number of surface finishes
the use of fluids at high temperature, are not suitable for use can be obtained, some of which are more suitable for adhe-
in structural applications. sive bonding than others. With the correct surface preparation
The various steps in the process of surface preparation the adhesive-zinc interface will be stronger than the steel-zinc
should be as follows: interface.

Alumina mesh size (fine) Alumina mesh size (coarse)

Solvent wiped 180/220 60
15 15 Grit blasted
Grit blasted 151

10 10 10

-
v
E
3.
5
-35
I

.-cs o 5
c 0
.- .-
L L
0 -5 0 -5

-10 -1a -10

-15 , -15 - 1 5 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 0 I 2 3 4
Assessment length (mm) Assessment length (mm) Assessment length (mm)

Fig 30. Effect of three different treatments on a steel surface

32 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

Table 9 Effect of choice of adhesive and surface treatment on short- and long-term shear strength for steel ad her end^^.^
Adhesive Surface

Initial After 60 weeks in water @ 6OoC

Cold-cure epoxy Degreased 2.70 Failed

Grit-blast 4.70 2.10
Grit-blast plus silane* 4.8 3.13
Hot-cure epoxy Degrease 4.29 3.90
Grit-blast 4.7 1
Grit-blast plus silane* 5.16
Acrylic Degrease 2.21 Failed
Grit-blast 3.68 1.66
Grit-blast plus silane* 4.40 2.68

The various steps in the preparation of the surface should Further guidance may be found in BS EN 127687.6.
be as follows:

degrease to remove oils and lubricants used in any form-

7.5.2 Selection of adhesive
Toughened epoxy adhesives are generally recommended for
ing process structural applications though acrylics may also be used.
lightly abrade - care must be taken to ensure that the
method used does not break through the layer of zinc
remove any dust by vacuum cleaner or air blast
chemically etch 7.6 Aluminium
dry the surface
apply a suitable primer if required by the adhesive manu-
facturer. 7.6.1 Surface preparation
The various steps in the preparation of the surface should be
There are a number of proprietary treatments available. It as follows:
should be noted that some will only be appropriate for prepa-
ration in the factory while others will be suitable for site use. degrease with a suitable solvent
Advice should be obtained from the manufacturer. clean with suitable alkaline solution
Further guidance may be found in BS EN 127687,6. acid etch, followed by neutralisation
apply a suitable primer if required by the adhesive manu-
7.4.2 Selection of adhesive facturer.
The most suitable adhesives will be epoxies. Acrylic adhe-
sives are generally incompatible with the zinc surface and With sealed anodized aluminium components, such as those
hence are not suitable. commonly used in buildings for cladding panels, bonding
may be extremely difficult. It may be necessary to remove the
surface layer.
Alternatively, the surface may be prepared by grit blasting,
7.5 Stainless steels followed by a silane primer. This will be more appropriate for
site use.
Table 10, based on data from Project 3 of reference 7.8,
7.5.1 Surface preparation shows the effect of the choice of the method of surface prepa-
Advice should be obtained from the manufacturer of the ration on the initial shear strength and also the long-term
adhesive as to the most appropriate surface treatment. Typical strength, after 60 weeks in water at 6OOC. The properties are
steps in the preparation of the surface should be as follows: shown for one particular adhesive, a cold-cure epoxy and
should be taken as being indicative only; they should not be
acid etch the surface used for design purposes.
remove the products of the etching process (desmut- Fig 3 I shows the effect of three different surface treatments
ting) on the roughness of an aluminium surface. As for steel (see
apply a suitable primer
Table 10 Effect of choice of surface treatment on short-
Ideally the treatment of the surface to be bonded should be and long-term shear strength, for cold-cure epoxy adhe-
carried out in the factory to obtain a good keying primed sur- sive and aluminium ad her end^'.^
face. However, a brush treatment may be applied on site.
An alternative preparation process, which may be more Surface treatment Failure load on 20mm x lOmm
appropriate for site use, is as follows: single lap shear specimen
with 1.6mm adherends
degrease with solvent
grit blast I Initial I After 60 weeks in water
@ 6OoC
apply a chemical coupling agent (such as silane)
Degreased 2.91 1.34
There are a number of proprietary treatments available. It Grit-blast 4.27 2.42
should be noted that some will only be appropriate for prepa- Grit-blast plus silane
ration in the factory while others will be suitable for site use. coupling agent 4.49 2.39
Advice should be obtained from the manufacturer.

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 33 I

 Solvent wiped
20 - 20 - Grit blasted 20 -
15 - 15- 15-

10-
I
E
10- -
E
10-
.
-E
5. 5- v
3. 5-
3.
v
c
5-
.
g.-m 0-(
.
J h ~ ~ % * ~ J ~ , i y % L 4 w . q , ;0 -
:.
.-
8.- 0-
2 .
D
2 -5- g -5- 0 -5-

-10 - -10- -10-

-15- -15- -15-

-20- . , . , -20, , , 1 , . , . 1 -20 ~ , , . , . , . 1

Fig 31. Effect of three different treatments on an aluminium su@ce

Section 7.3) the choice of the grit size has a significant effect bonded using common adhesives, such as resorcinol-
on the final surface profile. However, for a given grit, the sur- formaldehyde (RF), phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF)
face of the aluminium is far rougher than for the steel. or phenol-formaldehyde. For repairs, an epoxy adhesive will
Further guidance on surface preparation may be found in generally be most suitable.
BS EN 127687.6and ASTM D265 17.7. Adhesives are classified in accordance with their durability
in terms of their resistance to breakdown under various expo-
7.6.2 Selection of adhesive sure conditions. BS 12047.13 gives four adhesive types as fol-
The most suitable adhesives for structural applications will be lows:
epoxies and acrylics.
WBP: Weather-proof and boil-proof
BR: Boil-resistant
MR: Moisture-resistant and moderately weather resistant
7.7 Timber INT: Interior
The adhesive formulation should be selected with reference to
7.7.1 General the particular service conditions, through reference to appro-
Some limited guidance on bonded joints in timber is given in priate standards, such as EC5, BS 1204 and EN 3017.12*7.3.7.14
BS 5268: Part 27.9.The fabrication of finger joints is covered as indicated in Table 11.
in BS EN 3857.10.Advice on appropriate adhesives for the There will be restrictions if the material has been treated
repair of timber is available from TRADA7.. with a preservative or a flame retardant7.I5.These require care-
ful selection of the adhesive. The manufacturers advice
7.7.2 Surface preparation should be sought to ensure that the proposed adhesive is com=
With repairs it will be necessary to remove any damaged patible with the timber treatment that has been used. All treat-
material and to eliminate any fungal or insect attack before ments will affect the efficiency of the adhesive to some
preparing the surface to be bonded; additional treatment may extent. With certain timber treatments adhesive connections
be necessary after the repair has been camed out. Any chemi- may not be appropriate.
cal used to treat the parent material should be compatible with Where the timber is to be treated after connection, the
the adhesive, see Section 7.7.3. adhesive must be selected such that it is not affected by the
The various steps in the process of surface preparation treatment process. The adhesive should be fully cured before
should be as follows: the timber is treated. Resorcinol and phenolic adhesives are
not affected by even the severest timber treatments, but urea-
dry the surface region, generally to below 20% moisture formaldehyde adhesives may be affected.
content Where the surfaces to be joined are irregular, resulting in a
ensure that the surfaces are at a similar moisture content, wide gap at certain locations, it will be necessary to ensure
which should be close to the in-service conditions that the adhesive has adequate gap filling properties. These
use a plane or similar to obtain a flat, clean surface, with are defined in BS 1204 as resins which provide a satisfactory
cutter marks not more than 0.03mm deep (not applicable bond strength in bond lines of up to 1.3mm thickness.
to some repair techniques where a simple sawn surface
will be sufficient) 7.7.4 Assembly
for sheet materials such as plywood, lightly sand the sur- Assembly should take place as soon as possible after the sur-
face faces have been prepared, at a maximum within 48 hours or
remove dust by air blast or vacuum as recommended by the adhesive manufacturer. The surfaces
apply the adhesive to the surface as soon as possible; for to be bonded should be brought together and a pressure
absorbent surfaces, apply a priming coat of adhesive and applied by means of clamps or weights, such that the glue-
allow to cure fully before applying a second coat line is as thin as possible without squeezing out all the adhe-
sive. This will generally be in the region of 0.7N/mm2.
Pressure should be maintained during the curing period, as
7.7.3 Selection of adhesive specified by the adhesive manufacturer, and steps taken to
Timber is the material that has the longest history of the use ensure that the joint is not moved during this time. Where the
of structural adhesives. Most untreated timber can be readily joint is likely to be stressed as soon as the clamps are

34 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 *
Table 11 Adhesive types in different climatic conditions

Temp Climatic Examples EN 301 EC5 BS 1204b

equivalent"

15OoC Not specified Prolonged exposure I 1,2,3 BPlWBP

to high temperatureC

150Cd
285% rh at
20oc

185% rh at
I Full exposure to the
weather
Heated and ventilated I1 MR
20oc building. Exterior only if
protected from the 55OOC
weather. Short periods of
exposure to weather

Notes: a. 85% rh at 2OoC will result in a moisture content of approximately 20% in softwoods and most hardwoods, and a somewhat
lower moisture content in wood-based panels
b. BS 1204 refers only to phenolic and aminoplastic adhesives
C. This temperature may occur in some areas of buildings not normally inhabited, e.g. enclosed hot roof spaces
d. This temperature is unlikely to be attained in normal buildings in the UK. A reasonable upper temperature limit for inhabited
areas is estimated at about 3OoC

removed, pressure should be maintained across the joint for at

least twice the recommended period.

7.8 Reinforced plastics or fibre-reinforced

polymer composites

7.8.1 Surface preparation

Adhesive bonding is the most inherently natural and efficient
method of forming a connection between fibre-reinforced
polymer composite elements. Detailed advice on appropriate
connection techniques, including surface preparation, etc., is
provided by the manufacturers, such as Strongwell (formerly
MMFG) in the USA7.I6and by Hutchinson7.I7. 0 0.1 0.2
In general terms the suggested procedure for the prepara- U rnm
tion of the surface is as follows: Approximate scale

remove grease, dust and other surface contaminants

remove release agents, resin-rich surface layers, tissues Fig 32. Typical surface topography arising from woven peel-ply
and random fibre materials by using an abrasive cloth or material and composites
gentle blasting; care must be taken to ensure that the
main fibres are not exposed or damaged Surface treatment:
remove any traces of solvents and dust
As received
Where the area to be bonded can be identified prior to manu-
facture of the fibre-reinforced polymer composite, a peel-ply Solvent wiped I
can be incorporated which, when removed, leaves a surface
with the correct texture, with no further cleaning necessary.
Detergent rinsed pA
Fig 32 shows a typical surface produced by a woven peel- Alumina gritblast I
Ply.
With some materials, the three steps indicated above can be Sic abrasion
combined into a simple cleaning process, using a suitable A = Adhesion failure
Nylon abrasion
agent to remove the resin-rich surface layer of the composite.
Fig 33, taken from Hutchin~on~.'~, shows the effect of vari- Sodablast C = Cohesion failure in
ous surface treatments on the short-term strength of a single I adhesive bondline
lap joint made with a 2mm-thick woven carbon fibre epoxy , ,\I b

-
Peel-ply -1 I = lnterlarninar
composite, using two types of adhesive. failure in FRP
Further guidance on surface preparation may be found in Corona discharge
ASTM D20937.'8and BS EN 184O7.I9. Bonded overlap
Excimer laser ]=Ic area 20 x lOmm

7.8.2 Selection of adhesive 0 10 20 30 40 !

Some information on the selection of suitable adhesives for Lap shear strength (MPa)
use with reinforced plastics is given in the EUROCOMP 0RT cure paste epoxy
Code and Handbook7.*'.For general applications, epoxy-based Heat cure film epoxy
adhesives are likely to be the most suitable. In dry conditions,
polyurethanes may be used and acrylics will be suitable Note: relative insensitivity of
where creep is not a major design consideration. heat cured adhesive!
Fig 33 shows that a heat-cure epoxy adhesive is less sensi-
tive to surface preparation than a cold-cure adhesive. Fig 33. Effect of surface treatment on the short-term strength of
single lap shear joints in carbon-epoxy composite

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 35

7.8.3 Assembly 7.11 References
In some applications, the pieces to be joined may need to be
clamped in position in such a manner that a compressive 7.1 Hussey, R., Wilson, J.: Structural adhesives - directory
stress of about 0.1N/mm2 is applied across the joint. and databook. London, Chapman and Hall, 1996
7.2 ACI 503R-93: Use of epoxy compounds with concrete.
Detroit, American Concrete Institute, 1993
7.3 ACI 503.1-92: Standard specification f o r bonding
7.9 Glass hardened concrete, steel, wood, brick and other materials
to hardened concrete with a multi-component epoxy
adhesive, Detroit, American Concrete Institute, 1992
7.9.1 Surface preparation 7.4 ASTM (2882-91: Test method f o r bond strength of
Toughened glass has a surface that may be distorted by the epoxy-resin systems used with concrete by slant shear.
toughening process; in addition the whole sheet may be dis- West Conshohocken: American Society for Testing
torted. Hence care must be taken in the selection of the ele- and Materials, 1991
ments to be joined so that a thin, uniform adhesive thickness 7.5 BS 1079: Preparation of steel substrates before application
can be achieved. The only surface treatment that should be of paints and related products. London, BSI
required is the removal of any grease on the surface of the 7.6 BS prEN 12768: Structural adhesives - guidelines for
glass. There must be no grinding of the surface, as this may surface preparation of metals. London, BSI, 1997
cause cracks which penetrate the surface compressive layer 7.7 ASTM D265 1-90 (1995): Standard guide for preparation
and cause the glass to shatter. Similarly, neither the adhesive of metal surfaces f o r adhesive bonding. West
nor any primer that is used should etch the surface as this Conshohocken: American Society for Testing and
would reduce the strength of the glass, even though it might Materials, 1995
improve the adhesion. 7.8 The performance of adhesive j o i n t s ; Project 3,
When structural bonding tape is to be used, the glass should Environmental durability of adhesive bonds, Project 4,
be treated with a silane-based primer; formulations are avail- Characterisation of surface condition. London:
able which can be used to both clean and prime the surface. Department of Trade and Industry, Various reports
dated 1993-1996
7.9 BS 5268: Part 2: 1996: Structural use of timber. Part 2:
7.9.2 Selection of adhesive Code of practice for permissible stress design, materi-
als and workmanship. London: BSI, 1996
The use of structural bonding tape is likely to be the most 7.10 BS EN 385; Finger j o i n t e d structural timber.
suitable either when joining glass to glass or glass to metals, Performance requirements and minimum production
such as supporting frames. As an alternative, a modified requirements. London: BSI, 1995
epoxy adhesive may be used. 7.11 TRADA: Resin-bonded repair systems f o r structural
It has been found7.*that structural silicone sealants are suf- timber. Wood information, Section 4, Sheet 22. High
ficient to carry short-term loads. However, they are not suit- Wycombe: Timber Research and Development
able for long-term loading in structural glass. They are not Association, 1995
stiff enough to ensure good composite action between the 7.12 ENV 1995-1-1: 1994: Design of timber structures:
glass elements being joined in fully structural applications. general rules and rules f o r buildings. London: BSI,
1994
7.13 BS 1204: 1993: Specification f o r type M R phenolic
and aminoplastic synthetic resin adhesives f o r wood.
7.10 Connections between different materi- London: BSI, 1993
als 7.14 EN 301: 1992: Adhesives, phenolic and aminoplastic,
It is often necessary to bond two different materials together, for load-bearing timber structures: classification and
for example steel to concrete or steel to timber. When select- performance requirements. London: BSI, 1992
ing the type of adhesive it may be necessary to come to some 7.15 TRADA: Adhesives f o r wood and wood products - BS
sort of a compromise between the properties ideally suited to EN Standards. Wood information, Section 213, Sheet
bonding to the two materials separately. Alternatively, the 35, High Wycombe: Timber Research and
adhesive can be made compatible with both materials by Development Association, 1993
means of a suitable primer. 7.16 Design manual, Extren structural shapes. Bristol,
Table 12 lists dissimilar materials that are frequently bond- Virginia: Strongwell, 1989
ed together. 7.17 Hutchinson, A. R.: Joining offibre reinforced polymer
There are some combinations of materials that are difficult composite materials. CIRIA Report 46. London:
to join with adhesives, such as those with very different coef- CIRIA, 1997
ficients of thermal expansion. One example would be steel 7.18 ASTM D2093-93. Practice for preparation of surfaces
and aluminium. of p l a s t i c s p r i o r t o adhesive bonding. West
Conshohocken: American Society for Testing and
Materials
BS EN pr1840: Structural adhesives - guidelines f o r
the surface preparation of plastics. London: BSI, 1995
Material bonded on Material of Application 7.20 Clarke, J. L. ed.: Structural design of polymer composites
main structure - EUROCOMP design code and handbook. London:

I I
I

Steel plate or rod Concrete Repairs, dowel bars

Spon, 1996
Timber Repairs
7.21 Pye, A .J., Ledbetter, S. R.: The engineering of composite
Masonry Reinstating wall ties glass beams. In: Proceedings of International
Conference on Building Envelope Systems &
Fibre composites

Aluminium
I Concrete
Masonryktone
Timber
Concrete
I Repairs
Repairs, flooring systems
Repairs
Cladding
Technology. Bath, April, 1997

Glass Aluminium Glazing and cladding

36 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

8 Applications in new construction

8.1 Introduction
Adhesives are used in two distinct areas of application in new
construction. The first is in factory-built products or compo-
nents, such as glued laminated timber, and the second is in on-
site connections between structural members, such as precast
concrete units. The performance requirements for the adhe-
sives in the two types of application are somewhat different, as
outlined later. In addition, as discussed elsewhere in this
Guide, the possible levels of inspection and testing of the adhe-
sive in the two types of application are somewhat different.
As discussed in Section 2.6, the design life of the adhesive
in new structures will generally be required to be the same as
that of the total structure. For buildings this is likely to be
about 60 years. For highway bridges in the UK the specified
design life is 120 years. However, for adhesive repairs the
recommended life is in the region of 30 years'.'. Failure of a
structural adhesive in any application will lead to a significant
change in the behaviour of the structure, either at service
loads or at ultimate. Thus the most appropriate applications
are likely to be where it is possible to inspect joints between
structural members at intervals during the life of the structure,
and carry out any necessary repairs.
Fig 34. Roof of the Sydney Opera House during construction
It will probably not be possible to inspect and repair facto-
ry-built products but their suitability for particular applica- Glulam (glued laminated timber) consists of small cross-
tions will have to be determined in the light of experience. section rectangular pieces of timber of uniform characteristics
These considerations will have a considerable influence on bonded together. The grain of all the pieces is parallel to the
the choice of adhesives in a particular application. longitudinal axis, unlike plywood where the grain runs alter-
nately parallel to and at right angles to the axis. Glulam has
been used for the construction of timber portals and long-span
roof structures for a number of Manufacturers supply
8.2 Buildings a range of standard sizes of straight glulam elements for use as
beams or columns. Beams may be fabricated straight or
curved; lengths up to 35m are now commonplace. Performance
8.2.1 Concrete requirements for glulam are covered by BS EN 3868.6.
Adhesives have been used in the connections between precast Examples of the use of glulam include the roof of the
concrete units, for example at Coventry Cathedral and on the Leisure Complex in Lerwick covering 7000m2 and similar
Exeter University Chemistry Building, to connect very slen- public building^^^^^^.^. Fig 35 shows a typical application.
der column units. In both cases the joints were in compres- Glulam was selected for the main ribs of the shell roofs of the
sion, adhesives being used to keep the joint thickness to a Thames Barrier, which cover the floodgate operating machin-
minimum. A similar approach was adopted for connecting ery'.'. The five main roofs are 19m in height, l l m wide and
columns at Somerville College, Oxford, where, with accurate
casting, a joint thickness of less than 0.5mm was achieved.
Adhesives were used in the connections between the pre-
cast units forming the roof of the Sydney Opera Houses.2as
shown in Fig 34. Although prestress was applied across the
joints, adhesives were chosen in preference to conventional
mortar because very thin bond lines could be obtained, which
were watertight, and the erection sequence could be markedly
speeded up because of the rate at which the adhesive gained
strength. It was estimated that about 6 months of construction
time was saved in all.

8.2.2 Timber
The strength of timber depends largely on the influence of
strength-reducing characteristics, such as knots. Clear timber
is at least twice as strong as average quality sawn timber.
There are many different forms of timber composites. These
consist of small elements from which the major defects have
been removed, which are then adhesively bonded together to
form a composite material, which has a higher strength than
the parent timber. Details of the manufacturing processes
involved, properties, design methods, etc., are given in a
TRADA design The most common timber composite
is plywood, which is used in structural applications, either in
its own right or as a component of a prefabricated joist, as Fig 35. A glued laminated timber dome, Bournemouth International
described later. Centre

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 37 I

24m long. There are also two smaller structures of similar Adhesives are used in the connections between major struc-
shape. Although the outer surfaces of the shells are clad with tural elements, such as bulkheads and the hull. Applications
stainless steel, the glulam ribs are largely exposed to the envi- range from small dinghies to minesweepers. Fibre-reinforced
ronment. The shells were installed in about 1980. polymer composites are also gaining in use in the aerospace
Glulam has also been used in aggressive environments in and automotive industries.
which construction materials such as steel and concrete would Pultrusion is a continuous manufacturing technique in
not be sufficiently durable. Examples include chemical plants which glass, carbon or other fibres are combined with a suit-
where glulam has been used for the storage of salt, which able resin, e.g. an epoxy or a polyester, to form a structural
could cause corrosion of a steel container, and the roof of a member. Such fibre-reinforced polymer composite structural
battery manufacturing plant. The latter was designed to resist sections are starting to be used in buildings and other struc-
attack from sulphuric acid fumes; the 20-year design of the tures, generally where there is a particular requirement such
roof was based on a calculated deterioration rate for the tim- as low self-weight or low electrical interference8.I6.In many
ber in this very aggressive environment. A further application cases adhesive bonding is used in connection with bolts pass-
for glulam is in food processing plants; for example, lactic ing through the joints as in the structure shown in Fig 36.
acid from milk products can seriously attack concrete8.I0. Glass fibre-reinforced polymer composite panels of the
Laminated veneer lumber is a bonded product similar to type used for the Advanced Composite Construction System
plywood except that most of the plies are parallel; it is manu- (see Section 8.3.4) have been used to construct small one- and
factured in a range of standard widths and thicknesses. It has two-storey buildings.
been used to fabricate a variety of structural elements, such as
beams and columns, and to form shell structures8.".Lengths 8.2.6 Glazing and structural glass
up to 24m can be produced. Silicone adhesives are used to carry wind loads in some large
Prefabricated wood I-joists are composite members manu- panel glazing systems though, as indicated in Section 7.9.2,
factured by a number of companies in North America. They they are not suitable for carrying long-term loads. The panes
are fabricated from either timber or plywood, or a combina- of glass are bonded to aluminium frames in the factory and
tion, with the web being adhesively bonded to the flanges8.'*. the frames are bolted to the supporting structure on site. Only
Adhesives are, in addition, used to bond in steel rods in sealing of the units is carried out on site, not any structural
connections between glulam members. This technique has bonding.
been used since the 1 9 8 0 ~ ~ . ' ~ . Glass is starting to be use in structural applications, in
which it must carry loads in excess of its self-weight. For
8.2.3 Steel example, glass panels have been strengthened by means of
It would appear that adhesive bonding has not been used to glass fins bonded to them and have been used to form stair-
join steel sections carrying structural loads, though some pre- cases as well as awnings and similar structures8.". This is an
liminary trials have been carried out, see Chapter 10. emerging technique which is discussed further in Section
Some holding-down systems, for fixing steel stanchions to 10.2.
foundations, use resins to fix the bolts into the c o n ~ r e t e ~ . ' ~ .
The role of the resin will be to transfer any uplift forces on
the column to the concrete, along with some of the shear, the
remainder of the shear being transmitted by the packing under
the baseplate, which will generally be a cementitious mortar
or fine concrete.

8.2.4 Stainless steels

The main use of adhesively bonded stainless steels is in
cladding panels, which will be a semi-structural application.
Parts of the handrailing at the Waterloo International
Terminal were adhesively bonded, which would require a full
structural ~apability~-'~.

8.2.5 Fibre-reinforced polymer composites

Fibre-reinforced polymer composites have been used exten-
sively in boats and other marine applications for a number of
years, because of their corrosion resistance and light weight.
Fig 37. Building in Singapore with cladding panels fixed using
adhesive tape

I I """-1-

Fig 36. Fibre composite support structure with combined bolted-

bonded connections Fig 38. Roofing system using adhesive tapes

38 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 ' .-.

8.2.7 Cladding
Adhesive tapes are used to bond the light exterior panels of
some cladding systems to the supporting framework, avoiding
the use of mechanical fasteners or welding which would dis-
tort the surface. The tape accommodates the differential ther-
mal movements between the exterior, which is subjected to
solar gain, and the interior of the building which is at a more
constant temperature. Figs 37 and 38 show typical applica-
tions.

8.2.8 Sandwich panels

The outer skins of sandwich panels are adhesively bonded to
the core material, such as a foam. A range of materials are
used for the outer skins, including steel, fibre-reinforced plas-
tics and timber.

8.2.9 Stone
Natural stone cladding panels are bonded to metal brackets or
other assemblies so that they can be fixed to the main frames
of buildingss-". This results in significantly thinner, and
lighter, panels than would be required if the fixings were
directly into the stone. Other fixing systems consist of a com-
bination of mechanical and adhesive connections, some with Fig 39. Glued segmental bridge under construction
slots cut into the stone
Relatively small limestone sections have been post-ten- still carry the self-weight loads. Thus it should be considered,
sioned together, using adhesive in the joints, to form long probably, as 'semi-structural' only. In addition, the adhesive
panels'.'O. The technique is similar to glued segmental con- helps to waterproof the joints.
struction for bridges, see Section 8.3.1. The first use of the technique in the UK was the Rawcliffe
Resin bonded anchors are suitable for attaching fixings to Bridge near Doncaster, in about 1968' 23. Later examples
stone, because they exert less lateral pressure on the material include the Torridge Bridge, built in 1987, which consists of
than mechanical anchors. These are the only type of adhesive 250 precast units used to form the 640m long structure'.24and
connection considered by the Institution of Structural the 4.2km-long approach viaducts for the Second Severn
Engineers guide Aspects of cladding'-21. C r o s ~ i n gA
~ ~similar
~ ~ . technique was used to connect the pre-
Natural stone panels for use in raised floor systems from cast segments of the piers. Fig 39 shows a typical structure
one supplier are strengthened by bonding fibre-reinforced under construction.
polymer composite material to the tension face. Alternatively,
cladding panels are formed by bonding stone to honeycomb 8.3.2 Steel
material. Hence thinner sections may be used. Adhesive bonding would appear not to have been used in the
construction of steel bridges, though laboratory trials on the
8.2.10 Masonry use of bonded web stiffeners have shown that the technique
In The Netherlands and elsewhere adhesives are being used to may be appropriate, see Chapter 10.
bond brickwork. The main advantage would appear to be that
the adhesive is moisture resistant, which also results in 8.3.3 Timber
improved frost resistance. In addition, Aramid fibre reinforce- Timber is extensively used for bridges, generally for pedestri-
ment has been embedded in the adhesive layer in some cases an bridges but occasionally for those designed to carry higher
in order to build hidden lintels, with clear spans of up to loadsEz6.It would appear that timber bridges are more wide-
4.5m. The technique has been used for buildings in Utrecht spread in continental Europe than in the UK. Design is cov-
and Leiden in The Netherlands and in Brussels in Belgiums.zz. ered by EC5: Part 2''.
However, the formulation of the adhesive is not clear from Laminated timber has been used for the construction of a
the literature; it is described as a 'fine-grained cement'. large number of footbridges and highway bridges. Examples
in the UK include the footbridge over the Thames at Temple,
near Marlow, which was opened in May 1989 and has a total
8.3 Bridges span of about 90m and a recently completed 28m span bridge
in Buckinghamshire' ".
There are a number of significant bridges in Switzerland
8.3.1 Concrete built with glulam, including the 3-span Langlaufbriicke
A major use of adhesives in concrete bridges is in glued seg- Pradella at Scuol (total length 65m) built i n 1990. The
mental construction, in which successive units are 'match- Wennerbriicke at St. Georgen in Austria is a two-lane arched
cast'. In this system, each unit is cast against a previously cast highway bridge with a clear span of 45m and a total length of
one, with only a bond breaker between them. Thus when they 85m built in 1993. The main arches are 1.2m deep by 360mm
are assembled to form the final structure only a thin layer of thick. The main beams supporting the deck are 1.Om deep and
adhesive is required between them. However, despite the 360mm thick. The deck itself consists of precast prestressed
impression given by the name, this type of construction does concrete elements, connected to the main beams by means of
not rely entirely on structural adhesives. The epoxy mortar, or adhesively bonded steel rods' z6.
similar, placed between the match-cast concrete units is pri- The Hiroshima Airport Bridge in Japan is believed to be the
marily to seal the joint and to provide a uniform bearing area. longest clear span timber vehicular bridge in the The
Shear keys are provided to transfer the loads between the structure, which is cable-stayed, has a total length of 145m
units before the adhesive has fully cured. Prestressing cables with a width of 5m. The main structural elements are parallel
cross the joint and the precompression helps to develop the chord timber trusses, built up from glulam.
necessary shear capacity. Failure of the mortar is likely to Bridge decks have been formed by bonding together paral-
lead to serviceability problems, such as increased rotation of lel glulam elements, particularly in Canada and the USA. The
the joint, but not structural failure as the shear keys should first significant application in Europe was a two-lane road

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 39

Fig 40. Adhesively bonded rod connections are used in this glued Fig 41. Aberfeldy Bridge
laminated timber pedestrain and cycle bridge near Zurich,
Switzerland Examples include glass fibre-reinforced composite tendons
bridge, the Dorfli-Briicke at Eggiwil, Switzerland in 19848.26. first used in the Ulenbergstrasse road bridge in Dusseldorf,
The deck was fabricated in three pieces, each one third of the Germany, in 19868.35. More recently, carbon fibre and aramid
width of the bridge and the full length, which were bonded fibre-reinforced polymer composite tendons have been used
together on site. Glulam was also used for the 30m span main in Japan, Canada and the USA.
arches. Connections between the various members on site
was by a combination of mechanical and adhesive joints.
Glulam reinforced with fibre composite material has been 8.4 Tunnels
used for the main girders of a highway bridge in the USA.
The structure consisted of two 25m span~~.~O. There is currently little use of adhesive bonding in tunnel lin-
Fig 40 shows an example of a glulam bridge. ings because of concerns over the effects of fire on the struc-
tural behaviour. Bonded rock bolts are used but generally for
8.3.4 Fibre-reinforcedpolymer composites temporary support prior to further excavation or the construc-
Pultruded sections tion of the permanent lining.
Pultruded sections, generally of glass fibre-reinforced poly- However, adhesives have been used in repairs to tunnel lin-
mer composite, have been used to construct a number of foot- ings, as outlined in Section 9.4, and for direct rail fixing, see
bridges. The connections have generally been a combination Section 8.8.
of adhesive bonding and bolting or bonding with mechanical
interlocking.
8.5 Foundations
Advanced Composite Construction System
This system consists of glass reinforced polyester hollow core Epoxy connections have been used to extend piles, during dri-
planks, made by pultrusion, which are joined together by ving, to achieve the required final length. The requirement
means of an interlocking connection. It was originally would be chiefly to distribute the bearing stress between adja-
designed as a bridge enclosure and was used on the cent units and hence this may be considered as a semi-struc-
A19 Tees Viaduct in 19898.32. More recently the system was tural application.
used on the bridge at Bromley South station and on the
approach spans and the overbridges for the Second Severn
Crossing. 8.6 Geotechnical applications
The connection system was later developed for structural
applications, with adhesive in the longitudinal joints to carry Adhesives are used extensively in conjunction with rock bolts
the shear forces between the units so that the planks could be for the retention of rock faces in cuttings and also with soil
formed into box sections. They were used to build the 63m nails for the stabilisation of slopes and embankments.
span Aberfeldy Bridge in Scotland (see Fig 41), the worlds
first long-span composite structure to rely totally on adhesive
connections for shear transfer between the units of the
decks,33.This was followed by the Bonds Mill lift bridge in 8.7 Offshore platforms
Gloucestershire, which carries full highway loading. In addi- Steel beams and pipework on offshore oil platforms have
tion, a number of smaller footbridges have been built. been strengthened by bonding on carbon fibre composite
material^^.^^.
8.3.5 Composite steel and concrete
Precast concrete deck panels have been bonded directly to the
top flanges of the main steel girders to form a composite 8.8 Railways
structure (see also Chapter 10).
A recent development has been the use of adhesives for fixing
8.3.6 Aluminium rails in both light rail (tram) and main line systems. The rail
An adhesively bonded aluminium beam formed the main sup- may be fixed directly, for example to a concrete track bed, or
porting member of a proposed footbridge across the River else conventional chairs may be used, which are bonded to
Granta at Abington in Cambridge~hire~.~~. the supporting structure (see Fig 42);
The adhesive acts as cushion, reducing structure-borne
sound as well as carrying all the loads. In
8.3.7 Prestressing tendon anchorages addition, the resulting system is lighter than conventional
Resins have been used to bond prestressing tendons made of sleeper and ballast approaches and is more compact, which
fibre-reinforced polymer composites into the end anchorages. increases the available headroom under bridges and in tunnels.

40 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 8.2 OBrien, T., Nutt, J.: Adhesives for structural joint-
ing. The Arup Journal, 8 (3), October 1973, p48-49
8.3 Mettem, C. J., Gordon, J. A,. Bedding, B.: Structural
timber composites: Design guide. High Wycombe:
TRADA Technology Ltd, 1996

c
Concrete

B.::

00
f?..
Adhesive Grooved rail
8.4

8.5
TRADA: Glued laminated timber - an introduction.
Wood information, Section 1, Sheet 6, High
Wycombe: Timber Research and Development
Association, 1995
Mays, G. C., Hutchinson, A. R.: Adhesives in civil
So engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
0 .
1992
a.
a. 8.6 BS EN 386: Glued laminated timber - performance
. 00 requirements and minimum product requirements.
. * London: BSI, 1995
8.7 Anon: Laminated timber. The Structural Engineer,
d 74 (18), 17 September 1996, pA9
Ballast filler blocks 8.8 Anon: St Pauls, Brentford. The Structural Engineer,
74 (12), 18 June 1996, pA12

n
8.9 Mettem, C. J.: Timber shell roof structures, lecture
\- E21. In: Blass, H. J. et al., eds.: Timber engineering,
STEP 2 , Almere, The Netherlands: 1995
8.10 Hartl, H.: Timber structures in aggressive environ-
ments, lecture E26. In: Blass, H. J. et al.,.eds.: Timber
,Adhesive
engineering, STEP 2 . Almere, The Netherlands: 1995
8.11 Ranta-Maunus, A.: Laminated veneer lumber and
other structural sections, lecture A9. In: Blass, H. J. et
al., eds.: Timber engineering, STEP 1 , Almere, The
Netherlands; 1995, Lecture A9
8.12 Smith, I., Chui, Y. H.: Applications of modem wood
based composites in construction. In: Garas, F. K.,
Armer, G. S. T., Clarke, J. L.: Building the future -
Innovation in design, materials and construction.
London: Spon, 1994, p85-92
8.13 Buchanan, A. H., Deng, X. J.: Strength of epoxied
steel rods in glulam timber. Proceedings of 4th
International Wood Engineering Conference, New
Orleans, 1996
Fig 42. Direct fixing of railway tracks 8.14 Blake, A. C. L. et al: Holding down systems for steel
stanchions. Concrete Society/British Constructional
The approach is also being used for fixing crane rails, for Steelwork Association/Construction Steel Research
example, in container handling facilities where the adhesive and Development Organisation, 1980
is subjected to high compressive loads as well as high shear 8.15 Baddoo, N., Burgan, R., Ogden, R.: Architects guide
loads due to braking. to stainless steel. Ascot: Steel Construction Institute,
1997
8.16 Design Manual: Extren fiberglass structural shapes.
Bristol, Virginia: Strongwell, 1989
8.9 Miscellaneous applications 8.17 Guard, M.: Structural glass. The Structural Engineer.
Fibre-reinforced polymer composite materials have been used 76 (I), 7 January 1998, pll-12
for coastal and offshore structures. As in buildings, the adhe- 8.18 Carbary, L. D., Schoenherr, W. J.: Structural silicone
sive connections have often included boltP6. sealants used to adhere stone panels on exterior build-
Road signs are commonly bonded to the supporting frame- ing facades. In: Donaldson, B.: New stone technology,
work by means of double-sided tape, with the framework design and construction f o r exterior wall systems,
being connected in turn to the main support structure by ASTM STP 996. Philadelphia: American Society for
mechanical means. The same approach is used for large Testing and Materials, 1988, p160-165
advertising signs. 8.19 Smith, D. S., Peterson, C. 0.: The marriage of glass
Transmission masts, with either a solid or a hollow cross- and stone. In: Donaldson, B.: New stone technology,
section, have been made from glued laminated timber materi- design and construction f o r exterior wall systems,
als.38.Transmission masts have also been constructed from ASTM STP 996. Philadelphia: American Society for
fibre-reinforced polymer composites in the form of a three- Testing and Materials, 1988, p166-182
dimensional lattice, successive units being bonded together to 8.20 Kluesner, H. F.: Post-tensioned panels of Indiana
form a mast of the required height. Limestone. In: Donaldson, B: New stone technology,
In Denmark in 1984 the fibre-glass blades of an existing design and construction f o r exterior wall systems,
windmill were replaced with timber blades, consisting of glu- ASTM STP 996. Philadelphia: American Society for
lam leading edges and the various stringers and plywood cov- Testing and Materials, 1988, pll9-127
ering are assumed to have been bonded. In addition, adhe- 8.21 Institution of Structural Engineers. Aspects of
sives were used to fix the blades to the cladding. London: SETO, 1995
8.22 Anon: Verlijmen van baksteen, Koninklijk Verbond
van Nederlandse Baksteenfabrikanten (Royal
Association of Dutch Clay Brick Manufacturers),
8.10 References February, 1997
8.1 Rendel, Palmer & Tritton. Adhesive bonding in a civil 8.23 Sims, F. A. and Woodhead, S.: Rawcliffe bridge in
engineering environment. Report to Scottish Yorkshire. Civil Engineering and Public Works
Development Agency, December 1983 Review, April 1968, pp385-391

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 41

8.24 Pothecary, C. H., Brindle, L.: Torridge Bridge; erec-
tion of superstructure. Proceedings of the Institution
of Civil Engineers, Part 1 , 88, April 1990, p233-260
8.25 Fletcher, M. S . , Maury, Y., Khadivi, H.: Second
Severn Crossing approach viaducts; an example of
total external prestressing. In: Post-tensioned concrete
structures ( F I P Symposium 1996), London: The
Concrete Society, 1996, p856-864
8.26 Fischer, J.: Timber bridges, lecture E17. In: Blass, H.
J. et al.: Timber engineering, STEP 2. Almere, The
Netherlands: 1995
8.27 ENV 1995-2: 1997. Design of timber structures, Part 2,
Timber bridges. London: BSI, 1997
8.28 Anon: Historic Bucks. bridge recreated. The
Structural Engineer, 74 (I@, 17 September 1996, pA9
8.29 Gilham, P. C., Iimura, Y.: Design, testing and erec-
tion of the Hiroshima Airport Bridge. Proceedings of
4th International Wood Engineering Conference, New
Orleans, 1996
8.30 Boles, M.: FiRP glulams for bridge girders, FRP
International, IV (4), Autumn, 1996, p3
8.3 1 Irvine, R. A., Thorpe, J. E.: Bridge enclosure: facili-
tating construction, inspection, maintenance, upgrad-
ing and operation. In: Harding, J. E., Parke, G. A. R.,
Ryall, M. J. eds.: Bridge management 3 . London:
Spon, 1996, p429-436
8.32 Head, P. R.: Design methods and bridge forms for
the cost effective use of advanced composites i n
bridges. In: Neale, K. W., Labossiere, P. eds.:
Advanced composite materials in bridges and struc-
tures. Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil
Engineering, 1992, p 15-30
8.33 Head, P. R.: Advanced composites in civil engi-
neering - a critical overview at this high interest,
low usage stage of development. In: El-Badry, M.
ed.: Advanced composite materials in bridges and
structures. Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil
Engineering, 1996, p I - 15
8.34 McGrath, G.: Aluminium footbridge demonstrates
adhesive durability. Research Focus, no. 15, October
1993, p7
8.35 Wolff, R., Meisseler, H-J.: Glass-fibre prestressing
system. In: Clarke, J. L. ed: Alternative materials for
the reinforcement and prestressing of concrete.
Glasgow: Blackie Academic and Professional, 1993,
~~127-152
8.36 Barnes, F.: CFRPs for strengthening and repair.
Construction Repair, 11 (3), MayIJune 1997, p39-42
8.37 Fitzgerald, B. M., Shaw, M.: The mitigation of struc-
ture borne noise on a steel railway bridge using a
polyurethane resiliant track fixing system. Bridge
Management 3 , London: Spon, 1996, pp8 10-817
8.38 Solli, K. H.: Structures for transmission systems, lec-
ture 24. In: Blass, H. J. et al:. Timber engineering,
STEP 2. Almere, The Netherlands: 1995
8.39 Clorius, C. O., Pederson, M. U., Damkilde, L.,
Hoffmeyer, P.: The strength of glued-in bolts after 9
years in situ loading. Proceedings of 4th International
Wood Engineering Conference, New Orleans, 1996

42 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 - _ >

9 Examples of repairs, refurbishment and A

upgradhg
9.1 Introduction to 75mm thick; it was considered that this would add too
much weight to the existing structure.
Adhesives are used extensively in repairs, refurbishment and While steel plates continue to be used, advanced fibre-rein-
upgrading to bond additional material to existing structures. forced polymer composites are now being developed as alter-
The purpose is to make good a deficiency in strength or stiff- native materials for strengthening buildings and other struc-
ness which may be due to a number of causes, including: tures. Carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite strips have
been used to strengthen balcony slabs in G e r ~ n a n yto
~ .over-
~
corrosion of structural steel come problems due to deflections caused by insufficient steel
corrosion of steel reinforcement or prestressing tendons reinforcement. In Switzerland extensive strengthening of the
in concrete floor slabs of a shopping centre was required so that openings
damage to timber due to fungal or insect attack could be cut in the slabs to allow for the installation of new
cracks in concrete lifts and escalators. Carbon fibre-reinforced polymer compos-
under-design ite strips were bonded to the soffit in both directions on either
change of use . ~ . same technique was used in the
side of each ~ p e n i n g ~The
change of design criteria, such as increased seismic City Hall at Gossau St. Gall, Swit~erland~.~.
requirements In the UK, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite
impact damage to steel and concrete structures strips were bonded to the soffit of the concrete flat roof of
Normanby College, part of Kings College Hospital in
The new material may be either the same as the original, such London, to strengthen it sufficiently to carry an additional
as timber bonded onto timber, or may be different, such as flooP. It was suggested that the more traditional strengthen-
steel plate or carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite plate ing approach using steel plates would not have been possible
bonded to concrete. In the following Sections the applications because of design and application constraints.
are divided up according to the parent material and not the Elsewhere i n the UK, the material has been used to
strengthening material. strengthen precast stair treads which had been installed the
The design requirements for an adhesive repair will be wrong way up and to provide additional reinforcement round
somewhat different from a new-build application. The first a newly created opening in a floor slab.
difference is that the design life will be less, probably of the In Italy carbon fibre strips have been bonded in two direc-
order of 30 years; there would be little point in having a tions to both faces of a prestressed double curvature concrete
design life for the repair that was significantly greater than shell roof ~tructure.~. The structure had been damaged, result-
the remaining life of the structure. Secondly, many repairs are ing in the loss of some of the prestress; conventional repair
inspected and can be replaced if necessary. Finally, the conse- techniques were deemed not to be appropriate. Carbon fibre
quences of failure of a repair will generally be relatively strips were also used to strengthen the main roof beams of an
small, not leading to the collapse of the structure. exhibition building, increasing both the flexural and shear
Fibre-reinforced polymer composite material used for capacity. The ground floor beams of a residential building,
strengthening is in one of two forms. Either it is fully cured, which had been damaged by an earthquake were repaired by
generally in the form of a plate or strip, or it may be partially the use of carbon fibre sheets wrapped round and bonded to
cured, in which case it is generally in the form of a sheet. The the concrete.
latter material is generally referred to as a prepreg. Final cur- Canada has seen the use of glass fibre-reinforced polymer
ing of the resin in the composite, which also acts as an adhe- composite shells have been bonded to the surface of damaged
sive to bond the composite to the structure, takes place in situ. columns to improve their loadcarrying capacity..
Finally, resin injected into cracks in concrete, timber or In Japan columns have been strengthened following earth-
masonry to restore its loadcanying capacity might be consid- quake damage by wrapping them with carbon fibre-reinforced
ered to be a structural adhesive. polymer material, either in the form of a thin strip or in sheet
This Chapter gives an overview of some of the applications f o r d 9 . Similarly, columns have been strengthened by wrap-
of adhesives, grouped according to the type of structure ping them with aramid fibre tape, bonded to the surface~lo.
In Florida the beam-column connections in a parking
garage have been strengthened by bonding carbon fibre sheet
9.2 Buildings material to the sides of the beams9..This approach was cho-
sen in preference to the conventional solution of increasing
the size of the connection by dowel1ing in additional steel
9.2.1 Concrete reinforcement and encasing the joint with additional concrete.
Steel plate bonding was developed during the 1960s. An early It was estimated that the adhesively bonded repair was 35%
application was in a building in the early 1970s; the columns cheaper than the conventional method.
of the stairway and the lift shafts were continuously rein- Carbon fibre composite strips have been used in various
forced by external plates over the full height of the structure applications in a number of other countries, including Austria,
to provide the necessary vertical ties9.. Belgium, The Czech Republic, Hungary and New Zealand.
Steel plates are now regularly used to strengthen concrete Fig 43 shows a typical application.
beams and slabs, generally being bonded to the soffits to
improve the loadcarrying capacity. The first application in the 9.2.2 Masonry
UK was in London in 19789.2.In 1985 steel plate was bonded Unreinforced masonry has been strengthened to provide seis-
to the top surface of floors in an office building in Leeds to mic resistance in two six-storey apartment blocks i n
improve the punching shear resistance around column^^.^. Switzerland using carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite
More recently steel plates were bonded to the top surface of strip^^.^ (see Fig 44).
the concrete slab of a computer hall in a building in Reading A natural stone column in Zurich has been strengthened by
to increase its loadcanying capacity9..The alternative to steel the application of a spiral strip of carbon fibre-reinforced
plates would have been the addition of a structural screed, up polymer comp~site.~.

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 43

 Fig 45. Timber beams strengthened with carbon fibre plates
Fig 43. Strengthening the roof slab of an underground carpark
coefficient of thermal conductivity may make their perfor-
mance in fire superior. When rods or plates are used in appli-
cations such as the addition of new material to the ends of
beams, they carry the majority of the load, the adhesive being
relatively lightly stressed. The techniques have been devel-
oped over the past 20 years or so and are being validated by
laboratory testing and site m~nitoring~.'~.
An extension of the technique is the strengthening of beams
by means of steel reinforcing bars. A vertical slot is cut along
the beam, to a suitable depth and width, and is then filled with
an appropriate number of bars surrounded with epoxy adhe-
sive.
A further use of adhesive is for filling cracks and other
damage in timber members, though care must be taken to
ensure that the adhesive does not form a stiff wedge that can
lead to further damage to the timber member. In some appli-
cations a heavily filled epoxy grout has been used to replace
completely the timber at the ends of beams, shear connection
between the epoxy block and the parent timber being by
means of steel dowels.
One objection to the use of adhesives in embedded repairs
is that they are irreversible, which is a concern to owners of
some historic buildings.
The main beams of a historic building in Tunbridge
well^^.^' were strengthened with steel plates bonded to the
soffits; because the beams were twisted and deflected, the
plates were formed to the correct shape before installation.
Carbon fibre composite strips were used to strengthen a
200-year old oak beam in a museum in Lucerne, Switzerland,
(see Fig 45).
Fig 44. Carbonfibre strengthening of a masonry wall

Adhesives are used widely to fix replacement wall ties for 9.3 Bridges
cavity walls. Similarly adhesives are used to fix inserts set
into masonry to supplement bed-joint reinforcement.
In California unreinforced masonry walls have been 9.3.1 Concrete
repaired and strengthened using fibre-reinforced polymer Steel plate bonding has been used extensively for the
composite sheet material following seismic damage9.'*.The strengthening of concrete bridges, with the plates generally
same approach is being used to improve the lateral strength of being applied to the soffits of the beams. The first major use
masonry walls. of steel plate bonding in the UK on a bridge was on the
In Houston, marble cladding panels, which had come loose Quinton interchange on the M5 in 1975. Cores were taken
from the facade of a 31-storey building, have been refixed through the plates in 1995; the subsequent tests showed that
using a polyurethane adhesive. The work was carried out the adhesive layer was performing satisfactorily, despite some
without the need to remove the panels from the building, slight corrosion of the steel ~ u r f a c e ~ Other
. ' ~ . applications
reducing the cost of the repair from $6M to $0.5M9.I3. include two bridges at Swanley, Kent, in 1977, and one at
Rotherham in 1982. In 1990 the Austen Fen Bridge in
9.2.3 Timber Lincolnshire was strengthened with steel plates bonded over
In many traditional repairs to timber, adhesives are used to the supports and also onto the sides of the beams9.I9.The
bond the new timber to the old, with nails or clamps being transverse stiffness of the Bolney Flyover on the London-
used chiefly to hold the units together while the adhesive Brighton road was increased in 1992 by bonding steel plates
cures. More recently connections have been developed which to the top of the deck9.I9.
include bonded in rods or plates passing across the inter- In 1986 the joints in the Kattenbusch Bridge in Germany
face9.14. 9.15 . Generally steel is used but techniques using fibre were strengthened by bonding a large number of glass fibre-
composites are being developed. It has been suggested that reinforced polymer composite plates across them9.'. The plates
the lower elastic modulus of fibre composites make them were each 3.2m long, 150mm wide and 30mm thick.
more compatible for use with timber. In addition, their lower Woven carbon-fibre mats have been bonded directly to the

44 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

 n .

< , * )

arch bridges. A technique has been developed for strengthen-

ing masonry arch bridges by bonding in a grid of stainless
steel rods. Chases are cut into the soffit of the arch, both lon-
gitudinally and transversely, the rods are installed and fixed
in place with a high performance adhesive mortar. Trials were
carried out on a model bridge at the Transport Research
Laboratory, which showed a significant increase in strength
due to the repair technique929.The first actual application of
the technique was on a canal bridge in Rochdale, which
raised the load limit from 7 . 3 to the full 40t930.
It has been suggested that fibre-reinforced polymer com-
posite material could be bonded to masonry parapet walls to
improve their impact resistance.

9.3.3 Steel
The bottom flanges of a steel bridge beam in Delaware, USA,
which were locally damaged by vehicle impact, were
strengthened by bonding on carbon fibre composite strip^^.^'.
The material was bonded to the upper surface of.the damaged
flanges to decrease the stress in the steel to the point at which
fatigue cracks would not propagate.
Fig 46. Carbon plate bonding to the sofit of a small bridge
soffit of a bridge over the A2 autoroute in France to strength- 9.3.4 Cast iron
This would appear to be the first application in which Steel plates have been bonded to cast iron bridge beams to
en it9.20.
carbon mats have been used. Elsewhere various techniques strengthen them. Conventional repair techniques which
using carbon fibre-reinforced plates or strips are being devel- involve bolting would not have been appropriate as they
oped. would have weakened the structure. In 1991 the 90-year old
The first use of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite Bures Bridge over the River Stour in Suffolk was strength-
strips for the repair of a bridge was in Switzerland. The lbach ened by bonding steel plates to each of the five main cast iron
Bridge, near Lucerne was repaired with strips up to 5m long arches, which were severely damaged9.32.Large-scale trials
following damage to a prestressing t e n d ~ n ~The . ~ . strips were were carried out to prove the technique prior to work starting
bonded to the soffits of the beams. Subsequently, a number of on the actual bridge.
concrete bridges in Switzerland have been strengthened using Similarly, steel plates were used to strengthen the Mythe
carbon-fibre composite strips, either on the soffit to increase Bridge at Tewkesbury. Originally built in 1826, the structure
the sagging bending capacity or on the top surface to increase was seriously weakened and had a very restricted load capaci-
the hogging capacity. ty. Steel plates were used to strengthen the lateral cross-
Similar repair work to the soffits of beams has been carried beams and also the struts spanning between the supporting
out in I t a l ~to~ repair
.~ the damage caused by vehicle impact, arch and the d e ~ k ~ . ~ ~ .
the carbon strips being used to provide some additional shear Three historic cast iron footbridges in Birmingham were
capacity as well as increasing the flexural capacity. Also in restored and upgraded using steel plates bonded to the soffits
Italy, carbon fibre sheet material has been used to strengthen of the main beams to increase the loadcarrying c a p a ~ i t y ~ . ~ ~ .
short columns supporting the end region of a bridge. Plates were also bonded to the sides of the beams at various
In the UK, the ROBUST project developed the ROBUST locations to improve the lateral stability and to the top surface
SYSTEM of strengthening existing structures in flexure using of the deck plate on one of the bridges.
both unstressed and prestressed carbon fibre-reinforced poly- A cast iron beam over the London Underground line at
z . 'A
mer composite ~ t r i p s ~9 ..2 ~ . full account of structural Sloane Square, which had cracked due to thermal fatigue
strengthening using FRP, including a description of the loading, was repaired with carbon fibre composite strip^^.^^.
ROBUST SYSTEM, is given by Hollaway and L e e m i t ~ g ~In. ~ ~ .
1997, a small concrete underpass beneath a major road in 9.3.5 Timber
Buckinghamshire was repaired with carbon-fibre composite An historic wooden bridge near Sins, Switzerland was
strips of the type previously developed in S w i t ~ e r l a n d ~ . strengthened
~~. by means of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer
Similar repairs have been carried out in various parts of the composite strips which were bonded to the cross-beam~~.~.
country since. Fig 46 shows a typical application.
In Canada, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite
sheet material was applied to the soffits and the sides of a
bridge in Edmonton, to improve the shear r e s i s t a n ~ e ~The . ~ ~ . 9.4 Other structures
paper makes some comparisons with a conventional external In Japan, deteriorated concrete chimneys have been strength-
stirrup system, showing a 30% saving in costs. Similar repairs ened by means of carbon or aramid fibre tapes bonded to the
were carried out in Quebec where 9 columns of a bridge over surface, generally to increase the seismic resistance but also
a main highway were repaired, 5 with glass fibre and 4 with to increase the resistance to wind and thermal l ~ a d i n g ~ . ' ~ . ~ . ~ ~ .
carbon f i b ~ e ~ . ~ ~ . Carbon fibre sheets have been used in a number of cases to
Similar carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite sheet repair cracks in concrete tunnel linings and also to increase
material has been applied to bridge piers in Japan to improve the strength. Fukuyama et u19.36reported that there were
their seismic ~esistance~.~. approximately 25 such applications in Japan in 1996.
The use of fibre-reinforced polymer composite wraps around A concrete retaining wall at the portal of a tunnel was badly
columns to improve their seismic resistance has now been cracked during construction. It was subsequently repaired and
approved by the California Department of T r a n ~ p o r t a t i o n ~ .strengthened
~~~~.~ using steel plates bonded to the exposed surface.
and a number of different systems are undergoing prototype
trials.
9.5 References
9.3.2 Masonry
Steel plates have been bonded to the undersides of masonry 9.1 Mays, G., Calder, A.: 'External plates extend rein-

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 45

1
~~

forcements reach. Concrete, 22 (1 l), November 9.25 Alexander, A. G. S., Cheng, R. J. J.: Field application
1988, p25-28 and studies of using CFRP sheets to strengthen con-
9.2 Mays, G. C., Hutchinson, A. R.: Adhesives in civil crete bridge girders. In: El-Badry, M.: Advanced
engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, composite materials in bridges and structures.
1992 Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering,
9.3 Godfrey, J., Sharkey, P.: Plate bonding to strengthen 1996, p465-472
hall floor. Construction Repair, 10 (4), July/August 9.26 Neale, K.: Rehabilitation of columns of a highway
1996, p3940. overpass using fiber composite materials. FRP
9.4 Steiner, W.: Strengthening of structures with CFRP International, IV, Issue 4, Autumn 1996, p4
strips. In: El-Badry, M.: Advanced composite materials 9.27 Anon: Caltrans now permits composite wraps.
in bridges and structures. Montreal: Canadian Society Engineering News Record, 25 December 1995
for Civil Engineering, 1996, p407-417 9.28 Tarricone, P.: Composite sketch. Civil Engineering
9.5 Meier, U., Deuring, M., Meier, H., Schwegler, G: (ASCE), 65 (3,May 1995, p52-55
Strengthening of structures with advanced compos- 9.29 Parker, D.: Rod repair. New Civil Engineer, 14
ites. In: Clarke, J. L.: Alternative materials for the March 1996, p28-29
reinforcement and prestressing of concrete. Glasgow: 9.30 Minnock, K.: Masonry arch repair and strengthening.
Blackie Academic and Professional, 1993, p151-171 Construction Repair, 11 (4), July/August 1997,
9.6 Parker, D.: Sticking to the task. New Civil Engineer, p45-46
11 July 1996, p22. 9.3 1 Anon: Composite rehab comes of age. Emerging
9.7 Nanni, A.: CFRP strengthening. Concrete Technology, 4 (2), March/April 1997, p2 & 8-9
International, 19 (6), June 1997, p19-23 9.32 Robbins, J.; Premium bond. New Civil Engineer, 17
9.8 Labossikre, P.: Column repairs. FRP International, October 1991, p18-19
IV, (2), Spring 1996, p3 9.33 Bolton, A.: Strength on a plate. New Civil Engineer,
9.9 Anon: Rehabilitation following earthquake disaster. 19 November 1992, p16-17
FRP International, 111, (4), Autumn 1995, p4-5 9.34 Haynes, M.: Repair and restoration of three cast iron
9.10 Okamoto, T.: Aramid tape for seismic strengthening. footbridges in Birmingham. Construction Repair, 9
FRP International, IV, (3), Summer 1996, p3 (l), January/February 1995, p16-17
9.1 I Kliger, H.: Repair of parking structures. FRP 9.35 McLellan, A.: Loading crisis on iron tunnel. New
International, IV, (4), Autumn 1996, p 3 4 Civil Engineer, 28 November 1996, p8
9.12 Ehsani, M. R.: Strengthening of earthquake-damaged 9.36 Fukuyama, H. et al: JCI state-of-the-art on retrofitting
masonry structures with composite materials. In. by CFRM, Part 1, Materials, construction and applica-
Taerwe, L.: Non-metallic (FRP) reinforcement for tion. Proceedings of the Third Symposium on Non-
concrete structures. London: Spon, 1995, p680-687 metallic (FRP) Reinforcement for Concrete, Japan
9.13 Kraker, J. M.: Fix salvages unglued panels, saving Concrete Institute, October 1997, 1, p605-612
tower owner $5.5 million. Engineering News Record,
10 March 1997, p9
9.14 TRADA: Resin-bonded repair systems for structural
timber. Wood information, Section 4, Sheet 22. High
Wycombe: Timber Research and Development
Association, 1995
9.15 Mettem, C. J., Davis, G.: Resin bonded repair systems
for structural timber. Construction Repair, 10 (2),
March/April 1996, p23-28 (Part 1); and 10 (3),
May/June 1996, p43-47 (Part 2)
9.16 Mettem, C. J., Page, A. V., Robinson, G. C.: Repair of
structural timbers. Part 1: Tests on experimental beam
repairs. Part 2: Fire resistant repairs, Research Report
PIF 63/1, 1993
9.17 Midwinter, K. R.: Plate bonding carbon fibre and
steel plates. Construction Repair, 11 ( l ) ,
January/February 1997, p5-8
9.18 Hutchinson, A. R.: Strengthening of the Quinton
bridges with externally bonded steel plate reinforce-
ment. In: Harding, J. E., Parke, G. A. R., Ryall, M. J.:
Bridge management 3. London: Spon, 1996, p743-750
9.19 Ramsey, W.: Steel plate bonding for concrete bridge
strengthening. Construction Repair, 7 ( I ) ,
January/February 1993, p14-16
9.20 Anon: Reinforcement of structures with carbon
fibres. Freyssinet Magazine, December 19961January
1997
9.21 Leeming, M. B.: A ROBUST solution to strengthen-
ing RC and PC beams, Construction Repair, 10 (l),
January/February 1996, p15-17
9.22 Peshkam, V., Leeming M. B.: The use of advanced
composite materials in strengthening and maintaining
bridges. In: Harding, J. E., Parke, G. A. R., Ryall, M.
J.: Bridge management 3 . London: Spon, 1996,
~732-742
9.23 Hollaway, L., Leeming, M. B. (Eds.): Structural
strengthening with bonded fibre-reinforced polymer
composites. Woodhead Publishing, 1998
9.24 Anon: Passing the plate. New Civil Engineer, 13
February 1997, p9

46 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

10.1 Introduction required level of composite action between the members. The
authors identify a number of practical problems with this
This Chapter reviews developments that are at the laboratory form of construction, including the lack of knowledge of the
or prototype stage at present but have shown themselves to be appropriate properties of the glass, such as its shear strength. In
sufficiently promising that they may be used in practice in the addition they noted that the adhesive and any primer used must
not too distant future. not affect the surface of the glass and hence reduce its strength.

10.2 New construction 10.3 Repair techniques and applications

10.2.1 Steel structures 10.3.1 Concrete structures

Some trials have been carried out on a combined bolted- A number of workers are developing methods of pretension-
bonded beam-column connectionl0.'.Similarly work has been ing carbon fibre-reinforced polymer sheets or strips before
carried out on lapped plate connections in direct tension and they are bonded to concrete members, leading to greater
on beam-beam end connections in bending, all using a combi- improvements in the performance than the present use of
nation of bonding and boltingIO.*.In both series of tests the unstressed material'0.8.
aim was the development of a more rigid connection. They
concluded that initially the load was transferred adequately by
bond but, as discussed in Chapter 5, once the adhesive failed 10.3.2 Timber structures
all the load was carried by the bolts. In the USA preliminary trials have been carried out to
Development trials are being carried out on sandwich pan- strengthen wooden railway ties (sleepers) using a system of
els, consisting of two steel plates separated by a corrugated glass fibre-reinforced polymer bands wrapped round the
plate. Adhesive bonding has the advantage that the exterior m e m b e ~ ' ~This
. ~ . has shown that the bending strength can be
surfaces of the steel plates are not damaged by the connec- increased. Similarly, trials have been carried out in Canada on
tors, as would be the case when using spot welding, for exam- the possibility of strengthening concrete railway ties using
pie'o.3. bonded polyester fabric'O.'O.

10.2.2 Steel-concrete composite structures 10.3.3 Steel structures

Limited trials have been carried out on composite beams, Some trials have been camed out on the bonding of addition-
formed from a precast concrete slab adhesively bonded to the al stiffeners to the webs of steel beams'o,''.
The beams were loaded in sag-
top flange of a steel beam10.4.
ging bending, under fatigue loading, and also in hogging. The
results were compared with those from beams with standard 10.4 Testing
shear connectors. The authors concluded that adhesive bond-
ing was a suitable technique for forming steel-concrete com- There is a need for the development of simple, non-destruc-
posite beams, but they suggested that durability aspects need- tive test apparatus which can be used to check the condition
ed to be considered further. Though not stated, the behaviour of adhesive joints. The equipment would be used not only as
of the composite structure in fire would obviously be an a quality control measure for the construction process but also
important consideration. as a means of monitoring the in-service behaviour.

10.2.3 Timber structures

Work in Switzerland is looking at an approach for increasing 10.5 Education and training needs
the capacity of bolted connections in timber trusses by bond-
ing layers of fibre-reinforced polymer composite to the sur- As has been indicated a number of times in this Guide, work-
face, which prevent premature failure caused by local split- manship has a major influence on the behaviour of adhesive
ting'0.5.Fibre-reinforced polymer composites are also being joints. This will be particularly important for structural joints
used to increase the strength and stiffness of glulam beams'o.6. carrying significant load. Currently, many applications of struc-
tural adhesives are carried out by specialist staff. However, as
they become more widely used by the Construction Industry,
10.2.4 Aluminium structures there will be a need for the education and training of staff at all
Aluminium box sections have been fabricated from channel levels, both in the design office and on site.
sections and plate using adhesive bonding. Extruded alumini- Such a scheme is being developed by the European
um sections have been strengthened by bonding on steel or Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting, which identifies
carbon fibre composite plates to improve the strength and three grades of staff, with the appropriate qualifications
stiffness in critical locations. While both these developments andor experience, as outlined below:
were primarily for the transport industry, the approach obvi-
ously has potential applications in lightweight structures. European Adhesives Engineer: Graduate in engineering
from an accredited university
10.2.5 Glass structures European Adhesives Specialist: Appropriate training
Development work is being carried out on methods of form- courses, e.g. City and Guilds or Construction Industry
ing structural shapes, such as T- and box beams, out of glass Training Board
sheet. This arises from architectural requirements for struc- European Adhesive Bonder: Based on experience of
tures which are totally tran~parent'~.'.Trials have been carried using a particular adhesive
out on T-beams made from toughened glass, bonded with a
modified epoxy adhesive which appeared to achieve the Courses will be recognised by Approved National Bodies and

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 41

will cover all European Community countries, together with
some associated states. The courses will not be aimed at any
specific industry but are intended to give participants a thor-
ough grounding in adhesives technology. The scheme was
launched in 1998 and, initially, there will be training centres
in the UK (at TWI), Germany and France.
In a parallel initiative, FORMACOL, is a series of distance
learning packages on adhesive technology being developed
under the European C O M E T programme. The material has
been designed specifically to address the needs of senior staff
working in small companies who have limited time available
to attend conventional training courses but could be much
more widely used. It will be available in 6 European lan-
guageso.12.

10.6 References
10.1 Eaton, K. J.: The use of adhesive bonding in steel
framed buildings and structures. Precis of work car-
ried out by British Steel Swinden on behalf of Eurofer
Steel Promotion Committee, 1993 (Unpublished)
10.2 Albrecht, P., Sahli, A. H.: Static strength of bolted
and adhesively bonded joints for steel structures. In:
Johnson, W.S. ed. Adhesively bonded joints: testing,
analysis and design, ASTM STP 98 1. Philadelphia:
American Society for Testing and Materials, 1988,
~229-251
10.3 Davies, C. M., Stevens, A. J.: Steel skin sandwich
construction. 3rd International Conference on
Sandwich Construction, Southampton, 1995
10.4 Prakash Rao, D. S., Sharma, S. P.: Steel-concrete
composite girder with epoxy bonding. Proceedings of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, Part 2, 89, June
1990, p25 1-260
10.5 Chen, C-J.: An optimization of timber joint by fiber-
glass reinforcements. In: EI-Badry, M.: Advanced
composite materials in bridges and structures.
Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering,
1996, ~811-818
10.6 Dorey, A. B., Cheng, J. J. R.: The behaviour of GFRP
glued laminated timber beams. In: El-Badry, M.:
Advanced composite materials in bridges and struc-
t u r e s . Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil
Engineering, 1996, p787-794
10.7 Pye, A. J., Ledbetter, S. R.: The engineering of com-
posite glass beams. In: Proceedings of International
Conference on Building Envelope Systems &
Technology. Bath, April, 1997
10.8 Wight, R . G . , Green, M. F., Erki, M-A.: Post-
strengthening prestressed concrete beams with pre-
stressed FRP sheets. In: El-Badry, M.: Advanced
composite materials in bridges and structures.
Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering,
1996, p449-456
10.9 GangaRao, H. V . S . , Sonti, S . S . : Service life
improvement of wood crossties using composite fab-
rics. In: El-Badry, M.: Advanced composite materials
in bridpes and structures. Montreal: Canadian Society
for CiGl Engineering, 1996, p827-834
10.10 El-Hacha, R., El-Badry, M., Aballa, H.:
Strengthening of prestressed concrete railway ties
using composite straps. In: El-Badry, M.: Advanced
composite materials in b r i d g e s and structures.
Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering,
1996, p489-496
10.11 Martin, D. M.: Tests on transverse intermediate stiff-
eners. The Structural Engineer, 70 (15), 4 August
1992, ~261-267
10.12 FORMACOL - Adhesive technology distance learn-
ing packages (CD ROM and printed material).
Abington: TWI, 1998

48 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

Appendix A Organisations providin
specialist advice on adhesive techno ogy 1
The following organisations are able to provide specialist
advice on the use of adhesives for structural applications,
though a charge may be made for their services.

General adhesives advice

Centre for Adhesive Technology
TWI
Abington Hall
Abington
Cambridge CB 1 6AL
Tel: 01223891 162
Fax: 01223892588
Joining Technology Research Centre
Oxford Brookes University
Gypsy Lane Campus
Headington
Oxford OX3 OBP
Tel: 01865 483 504
Fax: 01865 484 179

Timber products
TRADA Technology Ltd
Stocking Lane
Hughenden Valley
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire HP14 4ND
Tel: 01494 563 091
Fax: 01494 565 487

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 49

 Appendix B British andinternational
standards
This Appendix lists some of the British and International American Standards
Standards that deal with adhesives and adhesive joints. It
should be noted that British Standards are in the process of ACI 503R-93: Use Of ePOxY Compounds with Concrete. ACI
being superseded by European Standards; the reader should Manual of Concrete Practice, Detroit, American Concrete
always ensure that the most recent relevant Standard is being Institute.
used. ACI 503.1-92: Standard specification for bonding hardened
concrete, steel, wood, brick and other materials to hardened
concrete with a multi-component epoxy adhesive. ACI
Manual of Concrete Practice, Detroit, American Concrete
British Standards Institute.
I BA 30194: Strengthening of concrete highway bridges using
externally bonded The Highways A ~ ~
ACI 503.5R-92: Guide for the selection of polymer adhesives
with
~ concrete.
~ Detroit,
~ American
, Concrete Institute.
1994 ASTM C882-91: Test method for bond strength of epoxy-
BS EN 301: 1992: Adhesives for loadbearing timber strut- resin systems used with concrete. West Conshohocken,
tures - Polycondensation adhesives of the phenolic and American Society for Testing and
aminoplastic types - Classification and performance require- ASTM D907-969: Standard terminology of adhesives. West
ments. London: BSI, 1992 Conshohocken, American Society for Testing and Materials.
ASTM D2093-93: Standard Practice for Preparation O f sur-
BS EN 302: 1992: Parts 1-4: Adhesives for load-bearing rim-
ber structures - Polycondensation adhesives of the phenolic f a c e s Of plastics prior adhesive bondingJ West
Conshohocken American Society for Testing and Materials.
and aminoplastic types - Test London: 1992
BS EN 385; Finger jointed structural timber - performance ASTM D265 1l90 (1995): Standard guide for preparation of
requirements and minimum product requirements, London, metal surfaces for adhesive bonding. West Conshohocken,
BSI, 1995 American Society for Testing and Materials.
BS 1204: Part 1: 1979: Synthetic resin adhesives (phenolic
and aminoplastic) for wood; specification for gap filling
adhesives. London, BSI, 1979
BS prEN 1840: Structural adhesives - guidelines for the sur-
face preparation of plastics. London, BSI, 1995
BS 1881: Part 207: 1992: Recommendations for the assess-
ment of concrete strength by near-to-surface tests. London:
BSI, 1992
BS 5268: Structural use of timber. Part 2: Code of practice
for permissible stress design, materials and workmanship,
London, BSI, 1996
BS 5350: Adhesives: Adhesively bonded joints: Mechanical
tests; Group C Part C5, Determination of bond strength in
longitudinal shear; Group C Part C15, Determination of bond
strength in compressive shear. London, BSI, 1991
BS 7079: Preparation of steel substrates before application
of paint and related products. London, BSI
BS EN IS0 10365: Adhesives - designation of main failure
patterns. London, BSI, 1995
BS prEN 12768: Structural adhesives - guidelines for sur-
face preparation of metals. London, BSI, 1997

European Standards
EN 301: Adhesives for loadbearing timber structures - poly-
condensation adhesives of the phenolic and aminoplastic
types - classification and performance requirements. London,
BSI, 1992.
prEN 387: Glued laminated timber - production require-
ments for large finger joints; performance requirements and
minimum production requirements. London: BSI, 1991.
EN 923: Adhesives - terms and definitions. London: BSI,
1997 (Draft).
prEN 1504: Products and systems for the protection and
iepair of concrete structure; Part 4, Structural bonding.
London: BSI.
DD ENV 1995-1-1: Eurocode 5 Design of timber structures.
General rules and rules for buildings. London: BSI, 1994.
prENV 1995-1-1: Design of timber structures. Annex A:
Glued in steel rods. London: BSI, 1994 & 1998. .

50 IStructE Structural use of adhesives

Appendix C Ap endixD
Health and Safety
regulations
R
AC nowledgment of
illustrations
Some of the Health and Safety regulations which need to be The Institution gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the
taken into consideration when using adhesives in construction following organisations for granting permission for the use of
are listed below. The reader should check that the most the illustrations in this Guide.
appropriate current regulations are used.
Ove Arup & Partners
Figs 1 and 34.
General regulations 3M
Figs 2,24,26,37, and 38.
The Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations Queen's University, Belfast
1994 (CDM) Fig 7.
The Construction (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1996 Thomas Telford Ltd
Fig 8 (taken from Mays, G . C.: 'The use of bonded external
reinforcement in bridge strengthening: structural require-
ments of the adhesive'. In: Harding, J. E., Parke, G. A. R.,
Other regulations Ryall, M. J. (eds): Bridge management 2: Inspection, mainte-
Work in Confined Spaces Regulation 1997 nance, assessment and repair. Thomas Telford, London,
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 1993.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) at Work 1992
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations Business Books Ltd
(PUWER) 1992 Fig 16 (taken from Semerdjiev, S: Metal to metal adhesive
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 bonding, 1970 lSt ed. Fig 5.15, p71).
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Kluwer Academic Publishers
Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 Fig 17 (taken from Adams, R. D., Comyn, J., Wake, K. C.:
Noise at Work Regulations 1989 Structural adhesive joints in engineering, 2nd edn. Fig 1.4,
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 p8, London: 1997 (after Argyris, J. H. in Research, 1962,15,
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
(COSHH) 1994 P183)).
Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 G. C. Mays & J . D.Turnball
Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 Figs 19 and 20.
Maunsell Structural Plastics Ltd
Figs 21 and 41.
Sika Ltd
Figs 23,25,27,28,42,43,44,45, and 46.
Oxford Brookes University
Figs 29,30,31,32 and 33.
Technical Timber Services Ltd
Fig 35.
CETEC Consultancy Ltd
Fig 36.
Reinforced Concrete Council
Fig 39.

TRADA Techonolgy
Fig 40 (courtesy of Chris Mettem)

IStructE Structural use of adhesives 51