Bonding procedures, artificial ageing and their effect on the durability of glass-to-glass adhesive joints
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14311/CEJ.2026.01.0006Keywords:
Transparent adhesives, Glass, Bonded joints, Artificial ageing, Double-lap shear joint, Epoxy adhesive, Acrylate adhesiveAbstract
In the context of modern architecture, glass is widely regarded as a fundamental design element, representing a material of increasing interest to architects and engineers. The fundamental challenge in using glass is design convenient connections. Adhesive joints are more convenient connections compared to mechanical fixings due to ensuring uniform stress distribution. This study focuses on small glass-to-glass specimens: (i) bonding of the specimens, (ii) artificial ageing, and (iii) shear tests. Two different transparent adhesives were tested, 2-component epoxy and UV-cured acrylate.
Proper specimen bonding is essential. Two-component epoxy required careful sealing during curing to prevent leakage. The UV-cured acrylate adhesive needed careful curing process to avoid bubble formation due to shrinkage of the adhesive. To determine resistance to environmental effects, combination of DVS 1618 procedure and UV radiation was used for artificial ageing of specimens. Shear tests on the reference set showed excellent results for acrylate adhesive, which achieved an average shear strength of 10.17 MPa. Problems with adhesion appeared after artificial ageing. Epoxy adhesive achieved an average shear strength of 4.55 MPa in the reference set. Two specimens had problems with adhesion to glass. After ageing, the specimens achieved a higher average shear strength (4.86 MPa) than in the reference set. The aged specimens failed only by glass breakage. Both adhesives showed high potential for use in glass construction joints.
Received: 30.11.2025
Received in revised form: 15.03.2026
Accepted: 23.04.2026
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