Glues and adhesives - Building applications

Det article follows on from the previous article deals with the theoretical aspects of bonding in the building industry.

Engineers, technicians and architects in the building and civil engineering sectors have replaced traditional assemblies with bonded joints in a wide range of applications, exploiting the advantages of adhesive bonding for joining materials.

For the past 30 years, the building industry has been using new construction materials such as insulating foams, sandwich panels, laminates and agglomerates... which can be assembled much more easily by gluing. The design of constructions has also been greatly improved, as bonding enables smoother, more attractive shapes... and cost prices have been lowered. Mortars and sealants have been significantly improved. Last but not least, in certain cases, glue joints can be used to create flexible, watertight or insulating junctions, thus adding to the value of the product.

Below, we look at a large number of bonding applications in construction and civil engineering, indicating technical requirements, performance and benefits achieved, and foreseeable future developments.