Merl Adhesives

MERL Ltd is an independent research and technology organisation specialising in materials engineering with non-metallic and related materials.

MERL offers a multi-disciplinary approach to the use of adhesives, combining chemical and engineering knowledge. MERL services aim to provide a high level of confidence that joint integrity will be maintained during service life at the design and development stage. Specialist knowledge and test capabilities are available for the application of fracture mechanics methods to assess joint durability and for life prediction.

Main areas of activity include:

• Development and specification of appropriate test methods
• Test piece manufacture
• Laboratory test programs (adhesive properties, joint and structural performance)
• Design analysis of joints, products and structures
• Life prediction

Environmental fatigue test developed at MERL	FE Model of joint fracture

Test facilities include:

• Static and fatigue testing: advanced screw and servo-hydraulic equipment with static and dynamic loads up to 250 kN
• Impact testing: servo hydraulic with velocities up to 5 ms-1 for e.g. wedge impact peel specimen (ISO 11343), instrumented drop weight with velocities of up to 11.3 m/s (joints and structures).
• Environmental testing: cyclic corrosion facilities, unique multi-station test equipment combining continuous environmental exposure with cyclic fatigue loading.

Analysis facilities include:

Finite element software ANSYS®, ABAQUS®, derivation of fracture mechanics parameters.

As well as bespoke projects. a number of industry funded consortium research projects have been completed aimed at developing test methods for assessing durability and analysis methods for predicting joint life. Public funding is also used for the development of new standard test methods. Staff are also involved in standards committees.

For further information see	www.merl-ltd.co.uk
or contact	Dr John Harris (jharris@merl-ltd.co.uk)

MATERIALS ENGINEERING RESEARCH LABORATORY LTD

Tamworth Road, Hertford, SG13 7DG, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0) 1992 500120