The Effect of Moisture in Epoxy Film Adhesives on their Performance: I. Lap Shear Strength

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Abstract
The effect of moisture content in four commercial epoxy film adhesives on their performance was studied. The investigation included conditioning of the adhesives under humidity and drying cycles, determination of moisture level following each conditioning step, and evaluation of the shear strength of the conditioned adhesive. Experimental results have shown that absorbed moisture caused reduction in adhesive shear strength. Predrying of the uncured adhesive under vacuum (3–5 mm Hg), for 3–4 hours at room temperature, was very effective in removing the absorbed humidity and consequently bond strength was regained, provided that the absorbed moisture was below the 0.3% level. Above this threshold value, irreversible deterioration occurred and drying resulted in only partial recovery of adhesive bond strength.

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