Use of structural adhesives has increased as more manufacturers become aware of their advantages compared to conventional joining techniques. The increased use of these adhesives in industry, especially in safety-critical areas, makes it necessary to evaluate any possible decrease in performance when subjected to impacts. Adhesive wedge peel test methods have been developed to evaluate fracture behavior of adhesively bonded joints when subjected to impact. The wedge-peel test is an ISO-standardized test method used to measure the resistance of structural adhesives to cleavage fracture at various speeds and user defined temperatures. The test consists simply of a wedge, driven between two bonded surfaces under impact.
Impact testing to this standard can deliver vital information to aid manufacturers in the research and development of new adhesives. Additionally, an environmental chamber enables the user to test at low and high temperatures, from -70 to -150. Once a suitable product has been established, both manufacturer and end-user can implement a quality control program utilizing baseline data from the impact performance tests to provide ongoing process validation and quality control.
When performing such wedge peel tests, we recommend using the Instron 9450, with an instrumented tup and specialist striker for ISO 11343. Additionally the Data Acquisition System and Bluehill Impact software are critical for proper data collection and analysis.