Adhesive bonding of stainless steels and their component metals

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the bond strength of a metal adhesive system bonded to stainless steels and their component metals. Two sizes of disk specimens (10 and 8 mm in diameter x 2.5 mm thickness) were machined from two stainless steels designed for magnetic attachment (AUM20 and SUS 316L), as well as from high-purity chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) metals for reference. The specimens were air-abraded with alumina, either primed with a metal conditioner (Cesead II Opaque Primer) or left unprimed, and bonded with an adhesive resin (Super-Bond Opaque). Shear bond strengths were determined before and after thermocycling, and the results were analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Post-thermocycling bond strengths of the unprimed groups were 16.3 MPa for the AUM20 alloy, 7.5 MPa for the SUS 316L alloy, 31.1 MPa for Cr and 3.1 MPa for Ni. Those of the conditioned groups were 30.3 MPa for the AUM20 alloy, 32.9 MPa for the SUS 316L alloy, 39.3 MPa for Cr and 13.1 MPa for Ni. Application of the conditioner elevated the bond strengths of all groups (P<0.05). It can be concluded that combined use of the conditioner and the Super-Bond adhesive is effective for bonding the stainless steels examined, and that Cr is a suitable component for the bonding system in question.