Chrome Free Bond Primer System (CFBPS)

Industrial sectors including aerospace, automotive & defence rely heavily on adhesive bonding for structural strength & lightweighting, reducing the need for riveting & welding. Bonding systems for aluminium alloys comprise surface pretreatment, bond primers & structural adhesives. The state-of-the-art surface treatment & bond primers used in the aerospace industry incorporate chromium as a corrosion inhibitor. However, the chromium used is toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic and will be banned from use from January 2019 under REACH legislation. Chrome-free alternatives need to meet the very high demands of the aerospace industry for adhesive strength or corrosion resistance. The consortium of Indestructible Paint (specialist coatings manufacturer), Loughborough University (Materials Department, Surface Technology), Bombardier Aerospace & Poeton Limited (Tier 1 supplier of surface treatment to industry) will collaborate to develop and test bond primer formulation & process innovation with the objective to develop an optimised bond primer system meeting aerospace industry specification requirements.