Standardised conventional adhesion tests are time-consuming single-sample tests. Moreover, except for the pull-off test, all these tests provide only qualitative or semi-quantitative (ranking, respectively measurement of an adhesion-correlated quantity) information on adhesion. Sometimes, adhesion is evaluated even under compressive stress conditions (e.g. cross-cut and scratch test), which itself is a contradiction to adhesive strength as defined in terms of tensile force per area.
For optical coatings it has been shown that the pull-off test in a centrifuge is definitely a promising alternative with respect to the reliable, fast and quantitative determination of adhesive strength in N/mm2. The force-controlled centrifuge test is the only multiple-sample test which provides reliable quantitative information on the adhesive strength in agreement with DIN EN 15870 and DIN EN ISO 4624 on a statistical basis for up to eight samples simultaneously tested under identical testing conditions.
Composite materials fulfil a great variety of functions in a wide field of applications. Testing the composite properties under environmental conditions is a must for development and quality control. Common tensile strength test instruments have limitations, like single sample handling only. Present test methods for multi-layers, e.g. peel test, permit semi-quantitative ,or qualitative evaluation only. A new instrument based on analytical centrifugation is introduced, using centrifugal force as test load, permitting to determine bonding and adhesive strength of up to 8 samples simultaneously.
A new technology for strength determination of adhesive-bonded joints based on analytical centrifugatioon is introduced. Tensile as well as shear strength can be measured for multiple test specimens simultaneously within a very short time. The experimental procedure is described from sample preparation, application of adhesives, sample mounting within the centrifuge to testing parameters and sequences. All requirements of DIN EN 15870 are fulfilled and, in addition, a higher throughput and a better reproducibility can be obtained. The experimental results are discussed regarding bonding strength development over time, comparison of tensile and shear strength and various testing conditions. Furthermore, an additional application field of centrifuge technology is described with respect to the determination of the adhesive strength of coatings. The novel centrifuge based technology provides the determination of bonding, adhesive and shear strength on a statistical basis under identical testing conditions for up to eight samples. Moreover, sophisticated two-sided sample clamping, necessary for a tensile testing machine, is replaced by a simple plug-in procedure.