Guide to structural use of adhesives (1999)

Guide to structural use of adhesives (1999) aims to fill the guidance gap for engineers. Adhesive technology may not be familiar to many structural engineers as adhesives have been used mostly in the aerospace and automotive industries. There are ways in which these techniques could be applied in the construction industry.

The guide will allow structural engineers, with little or no knowledge of adhesives and the behaviour of adhesive joints to be aware of the range of applications.
It will also help them to carry out preliminary designs and prepare outline specifications.
The publication is also of use to manufacturers, suppliers and contractors, and directs readers to other sources of more detailed information.
Coverage is confined to those adhesives with a polymetric matrix used in structural applications and cementitious materials are not included.

The guide is concerned mainly with structural and semi-structural adhesive connections, where the bonded joint carries either all or part of the load.
The emphasis is on connections between structural elements, not where adhesives are used as an integral part of the structure, such as glued laminated timber (glulam) or plywood.

The report discusses the advantages and advantages of adhesive connections, pointing out that there will be situations in which it will be more appropriate to use traditional connection techniques, or a combination, such as using adhesives in a bolted connection.

This can have a significant effect on the geometry of the connections, the methodology of erection or construction of the structure and hence the cost.

Guide to structural use of adhesives (1999) also discusses some of the economic implications of using adhesives.
There can, for example, be significant savings in total construction time because of the rapid gain in strength of glued segmental construction compared to the longer time take by cement-based products.