When should you use viscoelastic acrylic foam?

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Consisting of a viscoelastic adhesive on each side, acrylic viscoelastic foams are high performance adhesives. Below are the main benefits of these products.

What are the advantages of acrylic viscoelastic foam?

Mechanical performance

The main characteristic of viscoelastic acrylic foams is their ability to deform. This property is particularly interesting because it allows materials with different coefficients of expansion to be joined together without the risk of the joint breaking.

In addition, this product is a strong adhesive with semi-structural properties, which makes it possible to join many materials used in specialty vehicles, such as sheets or panels.

In the longitudinal direction, the expansion of the viscoelastic foam can reach 3 times its thickness
In traction and compression, this deformation can reach 1/3 of the thickness

Speed of application

The main advantage of double-sided adhesives is their ease of application.

Coupled with exceptional mechanical characteristics, this ease of application allows for assemblies that rival traditional fasteners, because:

This fastening method does not create weak points in the material, unlike welding, screwing or riveting
The load is distributed over the entire fastening surface, which sometimes results in better performance

The application of a viscoelastic acrylic foam is done in several steps:

Clean and treat the surfaces to be joined
Unroll the tape without stretching it
Apply pressure to the tape (1 to 2 kg/cm², 15°C < T° of application < 35°C)
Wait 24 hours before putting under stress

Aesthetics

Acrylic viscoelastic foams are particularly appreciated by designers, as they allow the assembly of a wide range of materials without leaving any traces.

Rivets, like welds, are visible on both sides of an assembly
Rivets create excess thickness, welds create deformations
Conversely, a viscoelastic foam fastener is invisible

In addition, these products have the advantage of making cleaning easier because of the smoothness of the assemblies, which keeps the surfaces shiny and clean.

Weight and volume savings

Compared to metal fasteners, using such thin polymer products not only makes vehicles lighter but also reduces the thickness of the parts.

Watertightness and resistance to the external environment

This viscoelastic foam has the particularity of ensuring water and dust tightness of assemblies, even at extreme temperatures (-20°C to + 120°C for most references). This aspect is particularly important to meet the temperature resistance requirements of certain special vehicles such as refrigerated trucks or construction equipment.

These products also have a good resistance to:

Outdoor aging
UV rays
Wind

Improved acoustics

In addition to providing an excellent seal, viscoelastic foams are capable of damping vibrations, a property much sought after by OEMs and manufacturers of special vehicles.

Under similar road conditions, the assembly between two sheets was tested by an independent laboratory. An average vibration gain of 40% and an average noise gain of 30% were measured.