Review on adhesive joints and their application in hybrid composite structures

Composites have been used extensively in various engineering applications including automotive, aerospace, and building industries. Hybrid composites made from two or more different reinforcements show enhanced mechanical properties required for advanced engineering applications. Several issues in composites were resolved during the last few years through the development of new materials, new methods and models for hybrid joints. Many components in automobile are joined together either by permanent or temporary fastener such as rivets, welding joint and adhesively bonded joints. Increasing use of bonded structures is envisaged for reducing fastener count and riveted joints and there by drastically reducing assembly cost. Adhesive bonding has been applied successfully in many technologies. In this paper, scientific work on adhesively bonded composites and hybrid composites are reviewed and discussed. Several parameters such as surface treatment, joint configuration, material properties, geometric parameters, failure modes, etc. that affect the performance of adhesive bonded joints are discussed. Environmental factors like pre-bond moisture and temperature, method of adhesive application are also cited in detail. A specific case of adhesive joints in hybrid bonded-bolted joints is elaborated. As new applications are expanding in the field of composites joining and adhesive joints, it is imperative to use information on multiple adhesives and their behaviour in different environmental conditions to develop improved adhesive joint structure in mechanical applications.     

Durability of PBI adhesive bonded joints under various environmental conditions

Structural adhesives are finding increasing use in many applications. However, their utilization at elevated temperature has always been a challenge due to their low thermal and mechanical properties. However, in recent years, the development of high performance polymers have overcome the problem of using adhesive bonding at high temperature to some extent. Polybenizimidazole (PBI) is one such recently emerged high performance polymer with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. It has a tensile strength of 160 MPa and a glass transition temperature (T_g) of 425 °C. Due to its excellent thermal and mechanical properties, it has the potential to be used as an adhesive under various environmental conditions. In the present work, efforts are devoted to explore the potential of using PBI at high temperature and in hot-wet environmental conditions. M21 and DT120 epoxy based carbon fiber composite bonded joints were prepared and tested. Both M21/carbon composite and DT120/carbon composite have exhibited a reduction in joint strength of about 16% and 25% respectively after 1000 h of conditioning in a hot-wet environment. However, a reduction in lap shear strength of 52% and 56% is observed when composite bonded joints were tested at 80 °C.     

Effect of using sepiolite silicate + fumed silica mixtures as fillers on the characteristics of solvent-based polyurethane adhesives

Abstract —Both fumed silica and sepiolite have been used as a filler of polyurethane (PU) adhesives. Although effective, the small particle size and the relative high cost of fumed silica are limitations in some applications. Sepiolite is cheaper than fumed silica, but its relatively large particle size facilitates its settling from the adhesive solutions. In this study, the usefulness of using sepiolite + fumed silica mixtures as a filler in solvent-based PU adhesives is demonstrated. The rheological and adhesion properties of the PU adhesive solutions and the rheological and mechanical properties of the PU films (without solvent) were studied. SEM micrographs of PU films showed the morphology and compatibility of the fillers with the PU matrix. The use of sepiolite + fumed silica mixtures inhibited the settlement of the filler from the PU adhesive solutions, increased both the storage and the loss moduli, and improved the rheological and mechanical properties of the PU. On the other hand, the green (immediate) T-peel strengths of roughened styrene-butadiene rubber/PU adhesive joints and plasticized PVC/PU adhesive joints were greatly improved in filled PU adhesives. The effects produced by using fumed silica alone or sepiolite + fumed silica mixtures were very similar, although in general, somewhat more marked in fumed silica-filled PU.     

Adhesives and adhesive joints under impact loadings: An overview

The study of the behaviour of adhesive joints under impact loadings is a very active field of research, driven by significant industrial interest. Many industries, such as the automotive industry, are currently employing adhesive joints extensively, making use of the inherent properties of adhesive joints to improve the mechanical behaviour, reduce weight, and simplify manufacturing. Reduced structural weight is achieved by combining multiple lightweight materials, which is made possible by using adhesive joints. Impact strength is also a major factor, as vehicles must be able to provide adequate safety levels for their occupants during collisions. Another example of industrial application is the defence industry, which uses bonded structures to withstand ballistic impacts, with extremely high impact velocities. Understanding the behaviour of adhesive joints under impact is, therefore, crucial for designing stronger and safer structures. This document aims to review the research that has been previously undertaken in this field. Discussed research topics include high strain rate property determination, adhesive joint testing, effects of coupling environmental conditions with impact loads, and sections on numerical and constitutive modelling procedures. The final sections describe some practical applications of adhesive joints under large strain rates and relate them to the fundamental concepts previously discussed.     

Process optimization of solvent based polybenzimidazole adhesive for aerospace applications

The use of adhesive bonding for high temperature applications is becoming more challenging because of low thermal and mechanical properties of commercially available adhesives. However, the development of high performance polymers can overcome the problem of using adhesive bonding at high temperature. Polybenzimidazole (PBI) is one such recently emerged high performance polymer with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. It has a tensile strength of 160 MPa and a glass transition of 425 °C. Currently, PBI is available in solution form with only 26% concentration in Dimethyl-acetamide solvent. Due to high solvent contents, the process optimization required lot of efforts to form PBI adhesive bonded joints with considerable lap shear strength. Therefore, in present work, efforts are devoted to optimize the adhesive bonding process of PBI in order to make its application possible as an adhesive for high temperature applications. Bonding process was optimized using different curing time and temperatures. Epoxy based carbon fiber composite bonded joints were successfully formed with single lap shear strength of 21 Mpa. PBI adhesive bonded joints were also formed after performing the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of composite substrate. Plasma treatment has further improved the lap shear strength of bonded joints from 21 MPa to 30 MPa. Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment has also changed the mode of failure of composite bonded joints.     

Water-based adhesive formulations for rubber to metal bonding developed by statistical design of experiments

Waterborne adhesives for rubber to metal bonding have been available since 1990. However, published information about their formulation has been limited, as proprietary restrictions are exercised by companies. As a consequence, the way these adhesives interact with substrates has not been studied extensively. With the aim of investigating the effect the components of a waterborne adhesive have on rubber to metal bonding, fractional factorial and surface response methodologies of design of experiments were employed in this study. Twenty six formulations were prepared with a polychloroprene latex as the adhesive polymer. Viscosity, wettability and non-volatile solids content were measured with each liquid adhesive, while the mechanical strength was evaluated by applying a tensile mechanical stress over cured solid adhesive films. Adhesion properties were evaluated by using a single lap-shear test on metal to metal joints and a pull-out test on rubber to metal joints. The results showed that the components with the largest relative influence on cohesive and adhesives forces were tackifier resin, silicon dioxide and polychloroprene latex type. In order to better understand the contributions of these variables, mathematical models correlating them with the response variables were obtained. This study is valuable in explaining how, through statistical methods, a waterborne adhesive for rubber to metal bonding can be formulated with a reasonably low number of experiments.     

Addition of Urethane-Based Thickener to Waterborne Polyurethane Adhesives Having Different NCO/OH Ratios and Ionic Groups Contents

Several waterborne polyurethane adhesives containing different hard-to-soft segment ratios and ionic groups were prepared by using the acetone process. To improve the rheological properties, a 5 wt% of hydrophobically-modified ethoxylated urethane-based thickener (HEUR) was added. The adhesives were characterized by shear rate-controlled rheology, pH, particle size measurements, solids content and laser confocal microscopy. The adhesive films were characterized by plate–plate rheology, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The adhesion properties were measured using T-peel tests of leather/thickened polyurethane adhesive/SBR rubber joints. The addition of the HEUR thickener produced an improvement in rheological properties of polyurethane adhesive dispersions as a result of the physical interactions between the polyurethane particles and the thickener. The addition of the HEUR thickener markedly increased the viscosity of the polyurethane adhesives, as the hard-to-soft segments ratio decreased and the ionic groups content in the polyurethane increased. As the hard segment content of the thickened polyurethane adhesive decreased, the kinetics of crystallization was favoured as a result of stronger polyurethane/thickener interactions. As a result, an improvement in the adhesive strength in the leather/thickened polyurethane adhesive/SBR rubber joints was obtained.     

Evaluation of mechanical and laser surface pre-treatments on the strength of adhesive bonded steel joints for the automotive industry

Recent research efforts in the automotive industry have been focused on the integration of high-strength steels within lightweight vehicles by using improved joining techniques. The present work falls in this subject area and is focused on the analysis of adhesive bonded dual-phase steel/epoxy joints for the automotive industry. Two quasi-static loadcases were considered, i.e. single-lap and T-peel tests, and various surface preparation strategies were evaluated. In particular, the mating surfaces were pre-treated by using pulsed laser irradiation with a fiber laser (1064 nm) and comparisons were made with degreasing and sand blasting. Moreover, the effects of bondline thickness and adhesive type were also assessed. To this aim, two epoxy adhesives with fairly different mechanical behavior (i.e. strain hardening versus elasto-plastic) were deployed for joints fabrication. Finally, T-peel tests were also carried out after sample cycling under controlled high humidity and temperature (i.e. accelerated aging). The obtained results highlighted the beneficial effect of laser irradiation on the joints’ mechanical behavior under both static and hydrothermal loadings.     

Characterization of Thermoplastic Polyurethanes Prepared Using Different Macroglycols

Three polyurethane elastomers (PU_s) were prepared using macroglycols of different nature (varepsilon-polycaprolactone, polyadipate of 1,6-hexanediol) and length of the hydrocarbon chain (polyadipate of 1,4-butanediol, polyadipate of 1,6-hexanediol). The PU_s were characterized using Gel Permeation Chromatography, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Wide X-ray angle Diffraction, Dynamic Thermal Mechanical Analysis, stress-controlled rheometry and stress-strain experiments. The surface properties were evaluated from contact angle measurements. The PU_s were used as raw materials for solvent-based adhesives, whose adhesion properties were measured from T-peel strength of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/polyurethane adhesive joints. The use of polyadipate of 1,6-hexanediol produced a polyurethane with high crystallinity (i.e. poor rheological and mechanical properties) and enhanced interactions between soft segments. Low adhesion was obtained in joints produced with this polyurethane and a cohesive failure of the adhesive was produced. The decrease in the polyadipate hydrocarbon chain length decreased the degree of crystallinity between polymer chains, therefore, no reduction in rheological and mechanical properties was obtained; a higher joint strength was also obtained. In this study the best performance was obtained with the polyurethane based on varepsilon-polycaprolactone, presumably because of its higher surface energy and reduced crystallinity. The properties of the polyurethanes prepared in this study were more affected by the characteristics of the macroglycol, and the crystallinity of the polyurethane had a more marked effect on the properties than the degree of phase separation.     

A Method of Predicting the Stresses in Adhesive Joints after Cyclic Moisture Conditioning

The durability of adhesive joints is of special concern in structural applications and moisture has been identified as one of the major factors affecting joint durability. This is especially important in applications where joints are exposed to varying environmental conditions throughout their life. This paper presents a methodology to predict the stresses in adhesive joints under cyclic moisture conditioning. The single lap joints were manufactured from aluminium alloy 2024 T3 and the FM73®-BR127® adhesive-primer system. Experimental determination of the mechanical properties of the adhesive was carried out to measure the effect of moisture uptake on the strength of the adhesive. The experimental results revealed that the tensile strength of the adhesive decreased with increasing moisture content. The failure strength of the single lap joints also progressively degraded with time when conditioned at 50°C, immersed in water; however, most of the joint strength recovered after drying the joints. A novel finite element based methodology, which incorporated moisture history effects, was adopted to determine the stresses in the single lap joints after curing, conditioning, and tensile testing. A significant amount of thermal residual stress was present in the adhesive layer after curing the joints; however, hygroscopic expansion after the absorption of moisture provided some relief from the curing stresses. The finite element model used moisture history dependent mechanical properties to predict the stresses after application of tensile load on the joints. The maximum stresses were observed in the fillet areas in both the conditioned and the dried joints. Study of the stresses revealed that degradation in the strength of the adhesive was the major contributor in the strength loss of the adhesive joints and adhesive strength recovery also resulted in recovered joint strength. The presented methodology is generic in nature and may be used for various joint configurations as well as for other polymers and polymer matrix composites.     

Experimental study of the influence of adhesive reinforcement in lap joints for composite structures subjected to mechanical loads

The paper deals with experimental investigations on reinforcing the adhesive in single lap joints subjected to mechanical loads such as tensile, bending, impact and fatigue. The adhesive used for bonding was an epoxy reinforced with unidirectional and chopped glass fibres as well as micro-glass powder. The adherends were glass reinforced composite laminates. The bonding surfaces were prepared before joining. In the case of unidirectional fibres in the adhesive region, the fibre orientations considered were 0°, 45° and 90°. The volume fraction of fibres in the adhesive layer in all the cases was 30%. The volume fractions of micro-glass powder were 20%, 30% and 40%. The tensile, bending, impact and fatigue tests on the prepared specimens were conducted according to ASTM standards. The results show that except the 90° unidirectional orientation, reinforcing the adhesive with glass fibres or powder increases the joint strength. The use of volume fraction of 30% of micro-glass powder gave the best performance in the above loading conditions. The fatigue life increased by 125%, the ultimate joint strength in tension increased by 72%, the bending ultimate joint strength increased by 112% and the impact joint strength increased by 63%. The microstructure of the debonded area was examined and three modes of failure could be observed namely cohesive failure, light fibre-tear failure and thin layer cohesive failure.     

Addition of different amounts of a urethane-based thickener to waterborne polyurethane adhesive

To adjust the rheology of waterborne polyurethane adhesives, different amounts of a hydrophobically modified ethoxylated polyurethane thickener (HEUR) were added. The thickened adhesive solutions were characterized by flow rheology, pH measurements, particle size, solids content and confocal microscopy. The thickened solid adhesive films were characterized by IR spectroscopy, plate-plate rheology, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The adhesion was measured from T-peel test of plasticized PVC/polyurethane adhesive/plasticized PVC and leather/polyurethane adhesive/SBR rubber joints. The addition of the HEUR thickener increased the viscosity of the polyurethane dispersion, and a shear-thinning behaviour was observed due to polyurethane–thickener interactions. The addition of thickener improved the rheological properties of the polyurethane, more noticeable as the content of the thickener increased. The crosslinking of the thickened polyurethane was studied by confocal microscopy. Although the addition of the thickener did not greatly affect the thermal properties of the polyurethane, an improvement in the adhesive strength of leather/adhesive/SBR rubber joints was obtained.     

Adhesive Joints for Low- and High-Temperature Use: An Overview

This work presents a review of several investigations on the topic of adhesive bonding at high and low temperatures. Durability and strength at extreme temperatures have always been a major limitation of adhesives that, given their polymeric nature, exhibit substantial degradation at temperatures where other structural materials (such as metals for example) have minute changes in mechanical properties. However, due to the inherent advantages of bonding, there is a large and continued effort aiming to improve the temperature resistance of adhesive joints, and this effort has been spread among the various topics that are discussed in this review. These topics include adhesive shrinkage and thermal expansion, adhesive properties, joint geometry optimization, and design techniques, among others. The findings of these research efforts have all found use in practical applications, helping to solve complex problems in a variety of high-tech industries where there is a constant need to produce light and strong components that can withstand large temperature gradients. Therefore, the final sections of this work include a discussion on two specific application areas that demonstrate the strict demands that extreme temperature use imposes on adhesive joints and the methods used to improve their performance.     

Influence of the Chemical Structure of Urethane-Based Thickeners on the Properties of Waterborne Polyurethane Adhesives

To analyse the parameters that influence the thickening mechanism of waterborne polyurethane adhesives, different hydrophobically modified ethoxylated polyurethane based thickeners (HEUR) were used. The thickeners were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The thickened adhesive solutions were characterized by flow rheology, pH, particle size measurements, solids content, and confocal microscopy. The thickened solid adhesive films were characterized by ATR-IR spectroscopy, parallel plate rheology, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The adhesion was measured by a T-peel test of leather/polyurethane adhesive/SBR rubber joints. The addition of the different HEUR thickeners increased the viscosity of the polyurethane dispersion to different degrees. Furthermore, whereas the un-thickened polyurethane dispersion showed a Newtonian rheological behaviour, a shear-thinning rheological behaviour was observed in the thickened dispersions due to thickener-thickener and polyurethane-thickener interactions. The viscosity of the thickened polyurethane adhesive solutions increased with the degree of hydrophobicity and the molecular weight of the thickener. The addition of different thickeners increased the pH values due to the ionic adsorption, which is one of the interactions that contribute to the thickening mechanism of the polyurethane thickeners, besides hydrogen bonding and van der Waals hydrophobic interactions (micelles). The entanglement of the thickened polyurethane adhesives was studied by confocal microscopy. Although the addition of the thickeners did not affect the thermal properties of the polyurethanes, the T-peel strength of leather/adhesive/SBR rubber joints was influenced by the rheological properties of the thickened adhesives.     

Effect of annealing on the properties of waterborne polyurethane adhesive containing urethane-based thickener

Different amounts of hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethane-based thickener (HEUR) were added to improve the rheology of waterborne polyurethane adhesives. The thickened solid adhesive films were thermally annealed and characterised by IR spectroscopy, plate–plate rheology, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Hydrogen bonds played a key role in the thickening mechanism of polyurethane dispersions containing urethane-based thickener, along with ionic adsorption and micelles formation between hydrophobic groups. The adhesion properties were measured from T-peel test of leather/polyurethane adhesive/vulcanised styrene-butadiene rubber joints. Optimal results were obtained when water in the waterborne polyurethane adhesive (just before joint formation) was removed under open air, while forced air drying impeded the complete removal of water. On the other hand, the thermal annealing did not greatly affect the rheological and thermal properties of the thickened polyurethanes.     

Finite Element Analysis of an Adhesive Joint Using the Cohesive Zone Model and Surface Pattern Design of Bonding Surfaces

Adhesive joints have been widely used in the automotive and aerospace fields in order to reduce the weights of products. The strength of adhesive joints, accordingly, needs to be increased and their behaviour should be predicted in order to achieve accurate designs. Studies to improve the strength of adhesive joints via surface treatment methods or by using two adhesives with different mechanical properties have been conducted. Various modeling methods also have been studied to predict the behaviour of adhesive joints. Unfortunately, the relationship between the bonding surface roughness and adhesive joint strength needs to be further clarified in order to be applied in practical design. As analyzing the relationship through a conventional finite element method assuming perfect bonding is challenging, the behaviour of the adhesive joints may be analyzed using a cohesive zone model or interface modeling methods from an integrating released energy point of view.

The strength of adhesive joints can be improved via micro-patterning due to the mechanical interlocking effect. Therefore, in this study, a micro-pattern was fabricated to improve the strength of adhesive joints. Various pattern-sized single leg bending joints and end notched flexure joints were manufactured and experimented upon. In this study, characteristics of each pattern surface were independently classified and modeled with a cohesive zone model. Finite element analyses were then performed and simulation results were compared with experimental results. The numerical results satisfactorily describe the experimental results, and failure loads were predicted with a maximum relative error of 8%. From these results, it may be concluded that the present findings can be applied to practical design and that the failure load can be predicted via a finite element analysis.     

Surface Modification of Poly(Tetrafluoroethylene) Films by Graft Copolymerization for Adhesion Improvement with Sputtered In-Sn Oxides

Surface modification of Ar plasma-pretreated poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films was carried out via UV-induced graft Copolymerization with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), acrylamide (AAm) and hydroxylethylacrylate (HEA) to improve the adhesion strength with sputtered indium-tin-oxide (ITO). The surface compositions of the graftcopolymerized PTFE films were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The graft yield increases with increasing monomer concentration and Ar plasma pre-treatment time of the PTFE films. The T-peel adhesion strength was affected by the type of monomer used for graft Copolymerization, the graft concentration, and the thermal post-treatment after ITO deposition. A double graft-copolymerization process, which involved initially the graft copolymeri/ation with AAm or HEA, followed by graft Copolymerization with GMA. was also employed to enhance the adhesion of sputtered ITO to PTFE. T-peel adhesion strengths in excess of 8 N cm were achieved in the ITO graft-modified PTFE laminates. The adhesion failure of the ITO/PTFE laminates in T-peel tests was found to occur inside the PTFE films. The electrical resistance of ITO on all graft-modified PTFE surfaces before and after thermal post-treatment remained conslant at about 30 Ω square, suggesting that the graft layer did not have any significant effect or. the electrical properties of the deposited ITO.     

Corona discharge treatment of EVAs with different vinyl acetate contents

Four ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) co-polymers with different vinyl acetate (VA) contents (9–20 wt%) were treated with corona discharge to improve their adhesion to polychloroprene (PCP) adhesive. The thermal properties of the EVAs decreased as their VA content increased, caused by a decrease in crystallinity. The elastic and viscous moduli of the EVAs decreased and the temperature and modulus at the cross-over between these moduli decreased with increasing VA content. Contact-angle measurements (water), infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyse the surface modifications produced in the corona-discharge-treated EVAs. The corona discharge treatment produced improved wettability and created roughness and oxygen moieties on the EVA surfaces. The higher the VA content and the higher the corona energy, the more significant modifications were produced on the EVA surface. The VA content also affected the T-peel strength values of treated EVA/polychloroprene + isocyanate adhesive joints, as the values increased with increasing VA content. Mixed failure modes (interfacial + cohesive failure in the EVA) were obtained in the adhesive joints produced with corona discharge treated EVAs containing more than 9 wt% VA. The accelerated ageing of the joints did not affect the T-peel strength values, but the locus of failure in most cases became fully cohesive in the EVA, likely due to the higher extent of curing of the adhesive.     

Improvement of mechanical properties of polylactic acid adhesion joints with bio‐based adhesives by using air atmospheric plasma treatment

The packaging industry generates a high volume of wastes; so that, there is a high demand of biodegradable materials, which do not damage the environment. Nowadays, there is an interesting consumption of polylactic acid (PLA) due to its biodegradable features. This work focuses on the improvement of mechanical properties of PLA adhesion joints for uses in the packaging industry. In order to achieve that purpose, atmospheric plasma treatment is used to selectively modify PLA surface properties. The obtained experimental results show that the atmospheric plasma treatment is suitable to increase the mechanical performance of PLA–PLA adhesive joints. Optimum conditions for the atmospheric plasma treatment were obtained with a nozzle–substrate distance of 10 mm and an advance rate in the 100–300 mm s^?1 range; for these particular conditions, the effectiveness of the surface modification is the highest. The main plasma‐acting mechanisms are microetching together with the insertion of polar groups which lead to an interesting synergy that causes a remarkable increase in mechanical properties of adhesion joints. In particular, the shear strength of untreated PLA–PLA adhesion joints is close to 50 N cm^?2 and this value is increased up to values of about 168.7 N cm^?2 with optimum plasma treatment conditions. This indicates that atmospheric plasma treatment is both a technical and an environmental friendly technique to improve mechanical performance of PLA adhesive joints. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42391.     

Influence of the length of the chain extender on the properties of thermoplastic polyurethanes

Three polyurethane elastomers (PUs) were prepared using MDI (diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate), polyadipate of 1,4-butanediol, and three linear chain extenders with different lengths (ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,6-hexanediol). The prepolymer procedure was used to prepare the PUs. The PUs were characterized using gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, wide angle X-ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and stress-controlled rheometry. The surface properties were evaluated from contact angle measurements. The PUs were used as raw materials for solvent-based adhesives, the adhesion properties of which were assessed from T-peel tests of solvent-wiped poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/polyurethane adhesive joints. The use of a short-chain extender produced phase separation, high crystallinity, and adequate rheological properties in the PUs. The length of the chain extender used in this study did not affect the surface properties of the PUs nor the T-peel strength of PVC/polyurethane adhesive joints but a change in the locus of failure was obtained: the decrease in the length of the chain extender, i.e. the improved crystallinity and the high degree of phase separation in the PUs, favoured the interfacial failure.