Structural Sealing and Bonding

Crash resistant SikaPower® (SP) structural adhesives increase passenger safety, improve car stiffness, save costs due to decreasing of spot welding points and to simplification of the manufacturing process. They also enable bonding of composite material mix (metal/aluminium/plastic) and improve long term car durability.

SikaPower® (SP) adhesives and sealants are heat-curing products based on epoxy hybrid technology, combining properties such as toughness, flexibility, elongation, mechanical strength and an excellent adhesion spectrum on various oiled steel and aluminum substrates. SP products can be used for crash and structural bonding, hem-flange, sealing and anti-flutter applications.

An analysis of a real case study was made, to show the gains from using SikaPower® SP contributes to weight reduction of the car as well as to reducing the high number of welding points needed in the car production (and corresponding costs and energy input).

The weight reduction brings gains during the use phase of the automobile, as it leads to lower fuel consumption. The carbon footprint of the SP amount used was calculated, as well as of the welding and bonding process. The avoided carbon emissions due to lower fuel consumption during the vehicle’s typical lifetime (approximately 150,000 km) are also shown.

To illustrate the gains from using SikaPower®, a comparison was made on a premium segment car model, where two different setups were analysed; one representing the serial production car, the other an optimised body with less welding points and thinner metal sheets.

Both cars achieved the stiffness and crash requirements. By using SikaPower® adhesive, 1,000 welding points and 30 kg weight were eliminated, leading to a reduction in CO₂ emissions during the use phase.

Global Warming Potential (GWP) measures the potential contribution to Climate Change, focusing on emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), which enhance the heat radiation absorption of the atmosphere, causing the temperature at the earth’s surface to rise.

For setup 2, not only is the GWP of the assembly process smaller, but also the total gains from the obtained weight reduction during the use phase are clearly demonstrated. The net gain from using SikaPower® amounts to 330 kg CO₂ per vehicle.