Development of physical and mechanical properties of a cold-curing structural adhesive in a wet bridge environment

The physical and mechanical properties of a cold-curing structural epoxy adhesive, exposed to a wet bridge environment, were investigated. A significant decrease of the glass transition temperature, tensile E-modulus and tensile strength was observed which could be attributed to plasticization. The retention of 70% of the E-modulus and strength at an average 10 °C reference temperature was predicted using the Arrhenius law after a 100-year...