Tailored Adhesives for High-Strain-Rate Applications

High strength adhesives have been developed by the automotive and aerospace industries that provide a light weight and cost effective alternative to metal rivets and bolts.The current commercially available adhesives fracture at high strain rates due to the rate dependent characteristics of these adhesives.Therefore, there is a pressing need for lightweight adhesives with resistance to ballistic impacts for use in the current and next generation US Army combat vehicles.TIAX proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a lightweight adhesive formulation that performs well in high strain rate situations, such as ballistic impacts.We will leverage our extensive skills in polymer and adhesive formulation to choose the proper resin system, fillers, crosslinkers and other additives to develop an adhesive that will strongly bond metals and composites to each other, thereby lessen the need for mechanical fastening.The use of our high performance adhesive in place of heavy bolts and rivets will aid the Army in vehicle weight goals, resulting in less fuel consumption, longer travel distances, and faster vehicles.These adhesives will perform well under the harshest conditions without degradation, and will not sacrifice strength and durability for ballistic impact resistance.