The four main areas of activity in the field of adhesion and adhesives at the University of Surrey are outlined: structural adhesive bonding; pressure-sensitive adhesive research; the interfacial chemistry of adhesion; and smart adhesive research.
There are many advantages that polymeric adhesives can offer compared to the more traditional methods of joining, but the structure of such thermosetting adhesives also generally results in brittle materials, with a poor resistance to crack initiation and growth. The incorporation of a second phase of dispersed rubbery particles into the epoxy polymer can greatly increase toughness for applications where a very high impact resistance is required for the adhesively-bonded joint.
Mentioning Pascal's Wager in a discussion of global warming in my July column has resulted in a flurry of e-mails (as a reminder, Pascal suggested that is was advisable to...
