structural adhesive for aluminum

[David Pozzi]

Not a car application, but I'm repairing a LOT of aluminum sprinkler pipe for our farm. I'm wondering if instead of welding on a bracket, perhaps I can glue it on?

Anyone know of a really really strong adhesive for aluminum?
I want to try a few as an experiment.
Thanks, David

[Bow Tie 67]

Dave,

I'm writing a note to myself, old age, to check a 3m product I have at home. It's used on aircraft.

Matt

[hotrdblder]

fusor makes some great products.

[wiedemab]

I've used 3M's panel bond. It's pretty good stuff. I don't know if this is the exact number that we used, but this list aluminum.


http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MAutomotive/Aftermarket/Products/Product-Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECFTDQCEK3_nid=GSNCT3JT87gsP 14FZGJL4ZglM1MQQDCT0Hbl

I have also seen fusor's stuff, but never used it. I think my dad has. I would think that either would work. The 3M stuff is pretty amazing.

[JMarsa]

I don't think it's cheaper than welding through if you already have a way to weld AL.

--JMarsa

[Bow Tie 67]

Good for Aluminum

3 row down 3 one over 3M EC-3333
http://www3.3m.com/dmrweb/servlet/Album?albumName=Aerospace+-+Datasheets+-+Paste+Adhesives&albumPassword=paste

[Mathius]

I immediately thought of this thread: http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/159614/

Follow up: http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/199766/post/new/#NEW

May not be what you're looking for.

Mathius

[David Pozzi]

What I have is old 3" aluminum sprinkler pipe, it's extruded pipe and the end needs a bracket welded to it but the pipe in that area is double walled to strengthen it when handled and stacked, - a short piece of pipe is pressed inside the outer pipe. The double wall area collects corrosion with age and I'm told it's very very difficult to weld anything to the outside because when the top surface melts, the corrosion underneath rises up into the weld area. I was hoping there was a super strong adhesive that we could just glue on a bracket that holds a hook. the hook holds the pipe to the next pipe in the line, or into a hydrant. We want to convert from one type of hook system to another, the original hook was held with a band clamp, the new system welds on.

One problem is, I don't think the bracket has a whole lot of surface area, but I haven't seen one yet. There might be a way to make the old band clamp work on the new hook. Did I mention we have over a thousand of them to do?
David

[Twentyover]

What pressures does the pipe run? 3" pipe running 100 psi (number extracted from my a**, don't know what your irrigation pumps run) will generate a shear load of 700 lbs, plus any pipe weight that would figure in. Make sure the adhesive shear x area can hold that much, and you probably need to dress it to get good adhesion.


Alot of people talk about the use of adhesives in aircraft as justification for use in other applications, but fail to mention that after a number of hours in flight or landings (depending on duration of the flights), an aircraft gets an inspection by someone qualified to asses condition of the glued joint. If the joint sees real stress, this is something to consider

[80proZ]

You may be better off making a bolt on bracket,if thats a possibility.

[David Pozzi]

Normal pressure is 60 to 70 psi on a 3" dia pipe, but I'd want it to hold at 100 just in case.
I'd rather do a bracket, but if the surface area is high enough an adhesive might work. I recently saw a Lotus Elise at an autocross and it was glued together.
Thanks for the ideas, I'll have to see what the weld on bracket looks like and figure something out from there. It will be a winter project, so I have time to think on it.
David