Marine Adhesives

report prepared by MMA engineers: 3/C Holcroft 2/C Maguire 3/C McQueen 2/C Pike 3/C Sunde _____________________________________________________ Smart Glue _____________________________________________________ I believe that this adhesive has some potential. One reason is that it actually stuck to a rock under the water. The fact that it came in a pre-mixing chamber is just icing on the cake. Its application was easy and clean. Some observations: its smell was almost not noticeable; it heated up after mixing. I have high hopes for this adhesive. TRIALS The Smart Glue was used in four trials, A.) Marking - Success B.) Marking w/glitter - Success C.) Bonding Glass (to rock) - Failed * D.) Bonding Metal (to rock) - Failed * * Samples failed only after having pressure applied to the by hand. The Glass bond was broken much easier than the metal, both failures where "failures of adhesion" as the Smart Glue stayed behind on either the rock or the glass/metal. __________________________________________________ Hydraulic Cement __________________________________________________ This week I used hydraulic cement and I found that when I applied it to a rock under water, it separated. This process was ineffective; it did not adhere to the rock. The reason I feel that the hydraulic cement did not adhere to the rock was because it was a dry powder mixture which became supersaturated in the water. _______________________________________________________ Paint pen (Testors Co. #2503C) _______________________________________________________ I also experimented with a paint marker that also failed to apply to a rock, a piece of etched glass, and regular glass, under seawater. I am unsure of the reason why the paint marker failed to mark these objects while submerged in seawater. We tested the Paint Pen. It marked the etched glass and metal tab clearly, but would not mark the rock or smooth glass. It has no adhesive properties. ____________________________________________________________ Ace hardware epoxy putty #10232 ____________________________________________________________ On October 2nd I worked with the adhesives produced by Ace Hardware. The putty needed to be worked together until a uniform color. The materials that were used (as adherends) were smooth glass, etched glass, and thick aluminum. I tried to (bond) all of these to rock. The application of the putty was done under the water, hence a wet surface that was unprepared. The only sample that didn't stick at all was the smooth glass to the putty; however, the putty did stick to the rock. all of the samples were clamped together to aid in keeping the samples together while hardening. Pressure in the (contact) area seems to be necessary for this product. I also did the same samples again but this time with a semi-prepared rock. A plastic bristle brush was used to clean the surface of the rock. The same results came about where the smooth glass didn't adhere to the epoxy. The remaining samples of the 2 experiments were placed in a minnow trap and suspended from the dock at the end of Taylor Point (on the Cape Cod Canal). The temperature of the water was 19 degrees centigrade. _____________________________________________________ APPLICATOR _____________________________________________________ An application idea is to have an enclosed cylinder with a small electrical engine, a large bore screw, a connecting tube from the bottom of the cylinder to the top, and a hole on the bottom. As the engine turns it forces the components of the epoxy down and together; they circulate through the connecting tube until ready when the bottom hole is opened and the epoxy is forced out. My thoughts on an applicator, is that it must meet these properties: 1. It must be made of inexpensive materials 2. It must be disposable 3. It must be able to mix both parts of the epoxy. My idea is to have a caulking-like gun, with a spatula on the end for spreading and mixing.