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May 10, 2010

Lloyds Approval for New 90 mins Open Time
Crystic® Crestomer® FRP Structural Adhesive

Scott Bader’s Crystic® Crestomer®1152PA structural adhesive is used to bond the hull bulkheads in the Schat-Harding FF1200 lifeboat.[Photo reproduced with kind permission of Umoe  Schat-Harding Equipment AS.] 

The Crystic® Crestomer® range of high performance urethane acrylate structural adhesives from Scott Bader Composites has recently been extended to include a new longer working time grade.   The new product, Crystic Crestomer 1153PA is pre-accelerated and MEKP cured (2% w/v), supplied in 25kg and 200kg containers as required.  It is aimed at composite manufacturers of larger FRP structures, typically with dimensions over 25 meters, who would benefit during production from a significantly longer adhesive open working time of up to 90 minutes.  The longer working time is also of benefit to fabricators operating in high local daytime ambient temperatures above 25 deg C which, depending on their location in the world, can vary markedly from season to season.  Customers in these climatic regions now have the choice to use the longer open time Crestomer 1153PA during the hottest summer months, switching to Crestomer 1152PA during the colder months of the year.   Crestomer structural adhesives are used globally by major marine craft customers in Europe, The Middle East, South Africa, America and China.

As with all products in the Crestomer range, this new addition was also submitted by Scott Bader to Lloyds Register for testing.  Crestomer 1153PA successfully gained Lloyds Acceptance (Statement of Acceptance MATS/1785/3), which covers structural adhesives for use in the most critical FRP bonding applications.  Crestomer 1153PA has excellent adhesion to FRP materials; typical lap shear bond joint strengths for FRP to FRP of 10 MPa have been recorded under BS ISO 4587:2003, with the limiting factor being failure of the substrate not the Crestomer structural adhesive.   

This exceptional FRP structural adhesive performance was dramatically demonstrated in 2009 when Schat-Harding, the world’s leading supplier for lifeboat and evacuation systems for the offshore, cruise and shipping industries, set a new 55 metre free fall drop world record for a lifeboat with its FF1200 model; the hull bulkheads in its highly engineered fibre reinforced and sandwich composite design were bonded using Crestomer 1152PA.    Despite its ‘all up’ weight of 30 tonnes, the FF1200 lifeboat surfaced from the 55 metre drop, having plunging 11 m under the water, without suffering any external or internal damage from the tremendous impact force when it hit the water surface.  The FF1200 was the first vessel to meet all the new OLF (Norwegian Oil Industry Association) design criteria for lifeboats in the Norwegian offshore sector, generally regarded as the most stringent offshore safety standard.

Scott Bader’s R & D team developed Crestomer 1153PA by modifying the long established Crestomer 1152PA grade, which has been proven in use for over 20 years, specified by leading FRP leisure boat builders for a variety of demanding hull and deck structural bonding marine applications.  Also MEKP cured, the 1152PA grade differs from 1153PA only in having a shorter 50 minute open working time.  Both Crestomer grades have the same unique rheology, which offers an adhesive which can be easily applied either manually or from suitable dispensing equipment.  For more information visit www.scottbader.com  / www.schat-harding.com