- Author
- Rossiter, W. J., Jr. | Vangel, M. G. | Kraft, K. M. | Filliben, J. J.
- Title
- Performance of Tape-Bonded Seams of EPDM Membranes: Effect of Material and Application Factors on Peel Creep-Rupture Response.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NIST BSS 176, May 1997, 59 p.
- Distribution
- Available from Government Printing Office Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- adhesive tapes | adhesive testing | application factors | building technology | creep rupture | EPDM membranes | peel strength | roofing | seams | time-to-failure
- Abstract
- An investigation, conducted under the auspices of an industry-government consortium, studied the effects of material and application factors on the peel creep-rupture response and peel strength of EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer) tape-bonded seam specimens. Two material factors (tape system and thickness) and five application factors (EPDM surface condition, primer, application temperature, application pressure, and time-at-application temperature) were examined in a two-level statistically designed experiment. Some tapes had thicknesses typical of those commercially available at the time of the study, and were designated as having 'standard' thickness. The thicknesses of 'standard' and thin tapes were approximately 0,9 mm (0.035 in) and 0.6 mm (0.025 in), respectively. Specimens were prepared either primed or unprimed using EPDM that was either cleaned or contaminated. Application temperatures were low, 5 deg C (41 deg F), or high, 60 deg C (140 degF), and application pressures were low, 0.2 MPa (30 lbf/in2), or high, 2MPa (300 lbf/in2). The time at which the specimens remained at the application temperature was short, about 24 hours, or long, 672-960 hours. To interpret the data, plots of mean time-to-failure and mean peel strength versus the combinations of application factors for each of the four pairs of tape system and tape thickness were analzyed. Comparisons of times-to-failure between the tape-bonded sample sets were made with those of liquid-adhesive-bonded sample sets tested in an earlier phase of the study.