Thermal stability of high temperature epoxy adhesives by thermogravimetric and adhesive strength measurements

The thermal degradation of two high temperature epoxy adhesives has been measured in terms of weight loss and adhesion loss and the lifetime predictions are compared for the two independent measurements of thermal degradation. Weight loss measurements were performed at high temperature under accelerated thermal aging conditions. Adhesion loss measurements were performed at lower temperatures closer to typical continuous operating temperatures. An Arrhenius relationship is validated for the thermal degradation of the epoxy adhesives, and the extent of degradation in terms of weight loss and adhesion loss is modelled with an autocatalytic rate expression. The degradation kinetic parameters and models are compared between the two thermal degradation measurements and are found to give similar predictions for the lifetime of the adhesives. In addition, the relationship between network degradation and loss of adhesive strength is discussed.