Using adhesives for connection technology has many benefits. It is cost-efficient, fast, and allows homogeneous stress distribution between the bonded surfaces. This paper gives an overview on the current state of knowledge regarding the technologically important area of adhesive materials, as well as on emergent related technologies. It is expected to fill some of the technological gaps between the existing literature and industrial reality, by focusing at opportunities and challenges in the adhesives sector, on sustainable and eco-friendly chemistries that enable bio-derived adhesives, recycling and debonding, as well as giving a brief overview on the surface treatment approaches involved in the adhesive application process, with major focus on metal and polymer matrix composites. Finally, some thoughts on the connection between research and development (R&D) efforts, industry standards and regulatory aspects are given. It contributes to bridge the gap between industry and research institutes/academy. Examples from the aeronautics industry are often used since many technological advances in this industry are innovation precursors for other industries. This paper is mainly addressed to chemists, materials scientists, materials engineers, and decision-makers.

The development of new adhesives has allowed to expand the application of bonding into the most diverse industrial fields. This review article presents the commonly used experimental methods for the investigation of mechanical performance of adhesively bonded joints in the aerospace, wind energy, automotive and civil engineering sectors. In these sectors, due to their excellent intrinsic properties, composite materials are often used along with conventional materials such as steel, concrete and aluminium. In this context, and due to the limitations that the traditional joining techniques present, adhesive joints are an excellent alternative. However, standardized experimental procedures are not always applicable for testing representative adhesive joints in these industries. Lack of relevant regulations across the different fields is often overcome by the academia and companies’ own regulations and standards. Additional costs are thus mitigated to the industrial sectors in relation with the certification process which effectively can deprive even the biggest companies from promoting adhesive bonding. To ensure continuous growth of the adhesive bonding field the new international standards, focusing on actual adhesive joints’ performance rather than on specific application of adhesive joints are necessary.

In this research, the adhesion properties of bonded composite-to-aluminium joints are evaluated using floating roller peel tests. Tests were performed using two different adhesives and different adherend lay-ups: composite-to-aluminium, composite-to-composite and aluminium-to-aluminium. The results show that floating roller peel tests, widely used in metal bonding, can also be used to assess adhesion properties of composite bonding and composite-to-aluminium bonding. However, attention should be paid on which results are important to take from the peel tests. In adhesion tests, the failure mode is more important than the failure load. The peel load can only be compared when using exactly the same type of flexible adherend. Even when the adhesion properties are good (cohesive failure), the peel load value can decrease up to a factor of 10 when peeling off a composite flexible adherend instead of an aluminium flexible adherend.