The importance of bonding - A historic overview and future possibilities: - A Historic Overview and Future Possibilities

An adhesive is a substance that has the capability to hold materials together. The manner by which adhesives are able to serve this function is due to a surface attachment that is resistant to separation. A bond occurs when the adhesive molecules adsorb onto a solid surface and chemically react with it. Adhesives have a very large importance for most industries, both for structural and for non-structural use. In this paper, an overview of the use of adhesives in different industries is presented - with focus on the building industry and on structural use. Not surprisingly, the use of structural bonding has increased considerably during the last decade. The main reasons for this are probably a combination of lower cost, more need of lightweight structures, development of more durable adhesives and improved structural adhesive perf(1)ormance. Additionally, adhesives often provide better load transfer than welded structures. In this paper, an overview of the use of adhesive in the service of man is presented. The overview is brief, but nonetheless gives an idea of the possibilities of adhering materials by bonding. The paper briefly discusses the use of adhesives in the aerospace, automotive and marine industries, but focuses on the construction industry. Finally some ideas about "sticking things together" tomorrow are presented.