A number of epoxy adhesives from MasterBond— notably EP17HTDA-1, EP21TDCHT, EP33, EP46HT-1AO, Supreme 11AOHT, and Supreme 12AOHT-LO—have passed MIL-STD-883J section 3.5.2 for material thermal stability. The testing indicates excellent thermal stability and consistent performance for these materials at operating temperatures to 200ºC.
MIL-STD-883 section 3.8.5 describes the thermal stability testing of these materials by means of thermogravitmetric analysis (TGA), according to ASTM D3850. The TGA is the study of a material’s weight change according to temperature and time under a controlled atmosphere, and can be used to determine the thermal stability of a material.
Evaluation of the material samples begins at room temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere. The samples are then heated at a rate of 10ºC per minute until a final temperature of 200ºC is reached. The material sample passes the testing if it is less than or equal to 1% of the cured material weight.
