More than just a fire-retardant adhesive

It wanted a product with high structural bonding strength, high peel strength as well as rapid strength development in order to make their production lines as efficient as possible. With this brief in hand, Permabond got to work on a solution.

What resulted is Permabond TA4230 - a fire-retardant adhesive that's tougher and faster-curing than other fire-retardant products on the market. In addition to its fire retardancy, the adhesive incorporates a groundbreaking surface adhesion technology. This allows for the high strength bonding of aluminium surfaces (or other metals) without having to abrade and remove the oxide layer. It is also highly tolerant of oil or other contamination, so is ideal for applications where extensive surface preparation is not feasible.

Permabond TA4230 isn't just any fire-retardant adhesive - it's certified fire-retardant to UL94 V-0 standard. In practice, this means the adhesive doesn't just repel or contain fire, it actively quashes it. This is due to its intumescent nature, making it swell in the presence of fire into a protective layer, which puts the fire out almost instantly.

Other than its fire-retardant properties, key features of Permabond TA4230 include rapid strength development (it reaches handling strength in as little as 10 minutes) and great strength on many metals, composites and some plastics. Since the adhesive was for use in exterior building cladding, Permabond made sure that it has excellent environmental, vibration and peel resistance. It can withstand inclement weather conditions such as rain and strong winds.

In addition to having far superior performance to flame-retardant cements, it's also a great alternative to mechanical fasteners. No drilling is required, which keeps the integrity of metal panels intact. It helps with lightweighting, and also means less processing, faster production speeds and overall cost savings. Unlike fasteners, TA4230 doesn't rattle in the wind and is resistant to vandalism and other deliberate damage.

TA4230's abilities aren't confined to cladding. In October last year, Permabond provided samples of the adhesive to two Spanish universities conducting research and testing on its application in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

One of the key challenges in EV battery design is ensuring fire protection as battery power increases. Manufacturers are seeking solutions that enhance thermal and fire resistance to comply with global safety regulations and, most importantly, to protect lives. As a robust fire-retardant adhesive, TA4230 is being evaluated as a potential solution in this context. Testing is still ongoing, but needless to say it's incredibly exciting to see how adhesives are being used to power the future.