The Technology Behind Epoxy
Most visitors to Epoxy Floors have no interest in and do not care about the technology of the product they are interested in buying. They simply want to find the best epoxy product to seal and protect their garage floor, workshop floor or wherever they may happen to want to apply this fantastic flooring solution.
But if you are interesting in reading more about the science of expoxy please read on because it really is quite a remarkable product with applications that go far beyond simple epoxy flooring for garages.
Technical Description of Epoxy
In chemistry terms, epoxy is a thermosetting epoxide polymer that cures (polymerizes and crosslinks) when mixed with a catalyzing agent or hardener. If you have used Bondo to fix dents in an automobile then you have used an epoxy resin. Remember the hardener you needed to add? Most common epoxy resins are produced from a reaction between epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A. When epoxies are mixed with the appropriate catalyst, the resulting reaction is exothermic, and the oxygen on the epoxy monomers is “flipped.” This occurs throughout the epoxy, and a matrix with a high stress tolerance is formed, and “glues” the materials together.
History of Epoxy
The first commercial attempts to prepare resins from epichlorohydrin were made in 1927 in the United States. Credit for the first synthesis of bisphenol-A-based epoxy resins is shared by Dr. Pierre Castan of Switzerland and Dr. S.O. Greenlee of the United States in 1936. Dr. Castan’s work was licensed by Ciba, Ltd. of Switzerland, which went on to become one of the three major epoxy resin producers worldwide. Ciba’s epoxy business was spun off and later sold in the late 1990s and is now the advanced materials business unit of Huntsman Corporation of the United States. Dr. Greenlee’s work was for the firm of Devoe-Reynolds of the United States. Devoe-Reynolds, which was active in the early days of the epoxy resin industry, was sold to Shell Chemical (now Hexion, formerly Resolution Polymers and others).
Applications of Epoxy
Epoxy resins are used in a wide variety of applications, including:
Paints and coatings – 2 part waterborne epoxy coatings are used as ambient cure epoxy coatings, valued for there adhesion to metal. Of course Epoxy resins are also used for high performance and decorative flooring applications especially terrazzo flooring, chip flooring and colored aggregate flooring. This is what you will use for the epoxy floor in your garage or workshop.
Adhesives – Epoxy adhesives are a major part of the class of adhesives called “structural adhesives” or “engineering adhesives” (which also includes polyurethane, acrylic, cyanoacrylate, and other chemistries.) These high-performance adhesives are used in the construction of aircraft, automobiles, bicycles, boats, golf clubs, skis, snow boards, and other applications where high strength bonds are required.
Electronics – Epoxy resin formulations are important in the electronics industry, and are employed in motors, generators, transformers, switchgear, bushings, and insulators. Epoxy resins are excellent electrical insulators and protect electrical components from short circuiting, dust and moisture. In the electronics industry epoxy resins are the primary resin used in overmolding integrated circuits, transistors and hybrid circuits, and making printed circuit boards.
Marine – There are two main areas of marine use. Because of the better mechanical properties relative to the more common polyester resins, epoxies are used for commercial manufacture of components where a high strength/weight ratio is required. The second area is that their strength, gap filling properties and excellent adhesion to many materials including timber have created a boom in amateur building projects including aircraft and boats.
Aerospace – In the aerospace industry, epoxy is used as a structural matrix material which is then reinforced by fiber. Typical fiber reinforcements include glass, carbon, Kevlar, and boron.
Wind Energy – Epoxy resin is used in manufacturing rotor blades of wind turbine. The resin is infused in the core material like Balsa, foam & reinforcing media glass fabric. The process is called VARTM i.e. vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding. Due to excellent properties & good finish, epoxy is most favoured resin for composites.
This should offer you a good technical background behind the science of your epoxy garage floor.
