The Epoxy-metal Interphase and Its Incidence on Practical Adhesion

Epoxy-amine liquid prepolymers are extensively applied onto metallic substrates and cured to obtain painted materials or bonded joint structures. Overall performances of such systems depend on the created interphase between the organic layer and the substrate. When epoxy-amine liquid mixtures are applied onto more or less hydrated metallic oxide layer, concomitant amine chemical sorption and hydroxide dissolution appear lending to the chelate formation. As soon as the chelate concentration is higher than the solubility product, these species crystallize as sharp needles. Moreover, intrinsic and thermal residual stresses are developed within painted or bonded systems. When residual stresses are higher than the organic layer/substrate adhesion, buckling, blistering, debonding may occur leading to a catastrophic drop of system performances. Practical adhesion can be evaluated with either ultimate parameters (Fmax or Dmax) or the critical strain energy release rate, using the three point flexure test (ISO 14679-1997). We observe that, for the same system, the ultimate load decreases while residual stresses increase when the liquid/solid time increases. Ultimate loads and residual stresses depend on the metallic surface treatment. For these systems, the critical strain energy release rate which takes into account the residual stress profile and the Young's modulus gradient remains quite constant whatever the metallic surface treatment was. These variations will be discussed and correlate to the formation mechanisms of the interphase.