Improvement of Bonding between Jewelry Crystals and Epoxy Adhesives

由于所连接的两种材料之间的边界，粘合材料有时可能很复杂。粘接不良的原因可能是表面污染、安装步骤不当或根本没有使用正确的粘接产品。此外，这种类型的粘合剂可能对一种材料很有效，但对不同的材料可能不那么有效。这项研究的目标是确定一种粘合剂是否可以适用于所有类型的水晶珠宝，以及是否需要晶体和粘合剂的独特制备工艺。由NSERC Engage Grant资助的研究将调查各种商业可用的粘合剂在四种晶体类型上的使用。粘接强度将在不同的条件下进行评估，例如：原始晶体表面的污染物、环氧-粘土粘合剂的混合时间、工作时间和固化温度。粘合晶体还将受到温度波动(+35°C至-35°C)的影响，以再现实际应用并评估其结合强度。通过采用优化技术，将确定最佳配方以获得最好的粘接强度。所选粘合剂的性能将使其能够在粘接能力和晶体表面制备技术方面提出建议。预计这项研究将提供一种比以前的方法更快、更可靠的组装技术。将提供一种创新的、独特的分步解决方案/程序，以在珠宝和环氧粘土粘合剂之间提供高强度粘合。

Adhesively bonding materials can be complex at times due to the boundary between the two materials beingjoined. Poor bonding can be caused by surface contaminations, improper installation procedures or simply notusing the right bonding product. In addition, it is possible that the type of adhesive works well for one materialbut may not be as effective for a different material.The objective of this study will determine if one adhesive can work well for all types of crystal jewelrysubmitted to different scenarios and if a unique preparation process for the crystals and adhesives are required.The research supported by this NSERC Engage Grant will investigate the use of a variety of commerciallyavailable adhesives on four crystal types. The adhesive bond strength will be evaluated under differentconditions such as: contaminates on the as-received crystal surfaces, epoxy-clay adhesive mixing time, workingtimes and curing temperature. The bonded crystals will also be subjected to temperature fluctuations (+35°C to-35°C) to reproduce real world applications and their bond strength assessed. By employing an optimizationtechnique, the best formulation will be determined for the best bond strength.The performance of the selected adhesives will enable recommendations to be made related to their adhesionability and crystal surface preparation technique. It is anticipated the research will provide a faster, morereliable assembling technique than the previous approach. An innovative, unique step-by-stepsolution/procedure to provide a high strength bond between jewelry and epoxy-clay adhesives will be provided.