Preparation and Characterization of Steel Surfaces for Adhesive Bonding
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 17, Issue 6
Abstract
In fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthened steel structures, debonding of the bonded FRP reinforcement from the steel substrate may result from adhesion failure at the steel/adhesive interface or the FRP/adhesive interface, cohesion failure in the adhesive, or a combination of these two modes. Of these failure modes, cohesion failure in the adhesive is the preferred mode of failure as it facilitates the development of a design theory based on the adhesive properties; the other two failure modes should be avoided if at all possible. This paper presents a systematic experimental study to identify a surface-adhesive combination that will avoid adhesion failure at the steel/adhesive interface. Different steel surface preparation methods, including solvent cleaning, hand grinding, and grit blasting, and different commonly used adhesives were examined in the study. Surface characterization using three key parameters (namely surface energy, surface chemical composition, and surface roughness and topography) was investigated. The test results showed that adhesion failure at the steel/adhesive interface can be avoided if the steel surface is properly grit blasted before bonding and a suitable adhesive is used, and that the treated surface can be characterized using the three key surface parameters mentioned previously.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, provided through an international postgraduate scholarship for Ph.D. studies to the first author, through a postdoctoral fellowship to the third author, and through a grant from the Niche Area Funding scheme.
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 17 • Issue 6 • December 2013
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 10, 2012
Accepted: Apr 20, 2013
Published online: Apr 23, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Feb 19, 2014
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