Environmentally Friendly Adhesives and Sealants for Army Applications

The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of mandating the Defense Land Systems and Miscellaneous Equipment National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) that will affect Army surface coating operations. The Army uses numerous adhesives and sealants among other coating materials that contain significant amounts of HAPs. This work examines a laboratory and weapons platform demonstration of two of the most highly used adhesives/sealants throughout the Army. The adhesives and sealants thrust area of the SPOTA program has identified HAP-free alternatives to Torque Seal, an antitamper sealant. Laboratory testing has shown that HAP-free Torque Seal using ethanol as the lone solvent had similar solids content, viscosity, adhesion, fluid resistance, and weathering relative to the baseline product. Dry time is slightly longer, but not enough to raise any concerns with weapons platforms maintainers.
See also ADM002187. Presented at the Army Science Conference (26th) held in Orlando, Florida on 1-4 December 2008. The original document contains color images