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Testing Glue Bonding
Name: Morgan
Status: student
Grade: 6-8
Location: PA
Country: N/A
Date: 1/9/2005
Question:
How can I test the strength of different glue (Elmer's
and super glue) when bonding it to things like paper plastic and metal?
Replies:
Testing is not just the physical act, it is a process.
You formulate a plan, then report everything. The reason is most all
experiments result in failure. Read about the greatest inventor, Thomas
Edison. For the light bulb he tried, I think, hundreds of materials. So,
one needs the report, for not only you, but others to investigate, in order
to find better solutions. So, write everything down. The last thing about
reporting, the best idea, or design, only becomes important if you can
communicate what you did, so put thought into how you will report your
findings. If it is for a science fair, think about your presentation. It is
best to do some thinking from the end and working toward that goal, as part
of your total effort.
To truly test, one has to be fair, everything as close to the same for each
experiment. Take the glues, one drop of each may not be equal, one may be
stronger. So you will need information about the strength, or concentration.
By recording everything, it would include the temperature. Materials often
behave differently at different temperatures. Next, the testing equipment,
it has to be calibrated, so you can accurately compare the trials.
Last, you mentioned paper, it very well may be that the glued spot is
stronger than the paper, so when you try to pull it apart, the paper will
fail. When welding steel, the part at the weld is stronger than the part
next to the weld. The act of welding changes the molecules etc.. So, you
will
have to devise a plan to test the glued piece, and not be fooled by other
failures.
James Przewoznik
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Update: June 2012
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