Project Announcement: Fatigue Evaluation of High-Performance Adhesives

The US Department of Defense is partnering with industry and academia on an initiative to study, evaluate, and generate a database on the fatigue strength of high-performance adhesives under various levels of mean axial stress in order to improve understanding and allow improvements to be made for a variety of adhesives used for manufacturing, maintenance and sustainment activities.
This initiative will evaluate the fatigue performance of cured high-performance adhesives that are subjected to various combinations of mean and alternating (cyclic) stress levels. Investigated variables include cure temperature, cure duration, degree of cure, and substrate materials, using readily available DMA and MTS-810 Fatigue Testing System at a public university laboratory. Project approach will include

• Evaluation of multiple adhesive systems (epoxy, urethane, acrylic, elastomeric, etc.)
• Determination of the energy absorption of the adhesive relative to the substrate by means of area under the stress strain curve
• Identification and investigation of any noticeable trends in the fatigue strength of high-performance adhesive and/or respective adhesive joints

If you feel your organization has the technical capabilities and would like to be considered for this project, please complete the form below and upload your organization’s technical capabilities statement.

Interested Submissions Due by 9/12/23.

We encourage participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), including Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).