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Throughout the past, heating by electromagnetic induction has been frequently used to design speedier curing processes of adhesives. With this method, bonded components are exposed to an alternating electromagnetic field (EMF), which generates heat in EMF-sensitive adherends, like steel and aluminium, or in susceptors that are admixed to the polymers to be cured, e.g. fibres or particles. Recently, specially designed susceptors, so-called Curie particles (CP), have shown their great potential for induction curing. Heat generated in CP is capped by the materials Curie temperature (Tc), preventing the adhesive from overheating. As a result, curing proceeds way faster and independently from ambient temperatures, opening up new application fields for bonded components. Although practical applicability has already been demonstrated, CP-induced heating – and consequently curing – has proven to be very sensitive to the boundary conditions of the considered application. Therefore, induction times needed to achieve full cure must currently be determined by cumbersome and costly experimental investigations. To compensate for this disadvantage, the present study – representing the second part of a series – aimed at offering a first approach of a numerical model in which thermal and kinetic aspects of CP-induced accelerated curing were combined. For that, curing kinetics of two kinetically different 2K epoxy adhesives were linked to a transient heat flow simulation in Ansys based upon experimentally determined heat loads. Since the first part of this series concentrated on presenting all preliminary experimental work as well as analytics applied during modelling, this part focuses on the validation of the developed FEA using the exemplary application of CP-cured Glued-in Rod (GiR) specimens. In the following, various numerical parameter studies were carried out, demonstrating principal functionality of the new FEA technique and highlighting in particular its contribution for the design of more efficient and target-orientated CP-curing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicated that glued-in rods (GiR), an adhesively bonded joint in which metallic rods are glued into wood blocks, are an efficient method to connect or reinforce structures in timber engineering, and represent a success story for adhesive bonding in civil engineering. In literature, GiR are mostly manufactured under perfect conditions, regarding both surface states and geometry, with outermost care taken to avoid any deviation thereof. However, in reality GiR are typically manufactured by staff that received little to no training, in particular with regard to the peculiarities of adhesive bonding. Thus the very high standards that apply in other industries, as for example aerospace, are hard to achieve. Additional constraints result from the relatively narrow gap in which the adhesive is injected, and the difficulty to monitor its complete and correct filling. For the manufacturing of GiR-connections several different techniques are used, which were mostly validated empirically. The influence of different manufacturing methods and potential defects on joint performance was investigated. Additionally, this paper sheds additional light on the influence of different typical defects on the load capacity of GiR with steel rods. Several defects, such as corrosion, contamination by oil, dust, wood chips, sand and moisture were considered, and performance of joints manufactured thereof compared to joints without such defects. The results of the research demonstrate that defects on GiR result in a non-negligible reduction of the load capacity, but that this effect is somewhat smaller than expected. Accordingly, GiR connections might be considered as relatively robust with regard to manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past years, a large number of studies about the implementation of adhesive bonding in timber engineering were published. Current practice is to use two-component (2K) epoxies and polyurethanes in conjunction with threaded steel bars, reinforced concrete bars, and rods made of fibre reinforced polymer. All these material might be considered questionable in terms of sustainable ecology. The current article investigates the possible substitution of aforementioned metallic bars by hardwood dowels, and the polymer-based adhesives by glutine- and casein-based ones. It summarises experimental investigations carried out with different geometric parameters, in which beech (a hardwood) rods were glued into spruce (a softwood) blocks. Joint capacities achieved using glutine- and casein-based adhesives were compared with results using 2K epoxies and 2K polyurethane adhesives under dry conditions, and under the influence of moisture. Results indicate that current glutine and casein adhesives, if used under dry conditions, achieve similar strength; however, the influence of moisture is still a limiting factor that severely restricts their usage under adverse conditions. The presentation of the results is completed by a numerical modelling of the considered joints, including a methodology to predict their capacity with a reasonable degree of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]