ASTM D429 determines the adhesion strength of rubber to rigid materials, such as metals. The standard requires that the testing machine conform to practices described in ASTM E4. Our Universal Testing Systems meet this specification and provide an appropriate solution for this test application.
Method A describes a tension test used to determine the bond of a rubber part assembled between two parallel metal plates. Our Bluehill® 2 or Bluehill Lite software can calculate the adhesion value per this test method. For increased productivity, the operator can register the observed failure type from a software drop-down menu.
Method B describes a peel procedure to determine the adhesive strength between rubber materials to a metal plate or substrate. In an adhesion test, a measured forced is applied to a test specimen to strip a layer from the specimen with tearing at the bonded surfaces. The value of interest is the "Adhesion Strength" defined as the maximum force divided by the width of the specimen. We recommend using a 90° peel fixture that holds and moves the substrate as the rubber strip is peeled off by an upper grip. We have found that pneumatic side action grips provide an appropriate solution due to ease of use, productivity, and better repeatability. Manual screw action grips can also provide an adequate and affordable solution for this test.