SEALANT COMPOSITION AND ITS USE IN WELDING

Abstract: A sealant composition suitable for use, for example, in spot welding comprising thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and not more than 15% by weight of the composition of finely divided zinc. Examples use a composition comprising polybutene, butyl rubber, finely divided inorganic compound and finely divided zinc. Presence of the minor amount of zinc inhibits corrosion in spot welded metal parts.

Description: Sealant composition and its use in welding Technical Field This invention is concerned with a sealant comp¬ osition, and with methods of welding in which the sealant composition is employed. Background Art It is a practice, for example, in the automotive industry, to secure steel and σ"ther ferrous metal parts together by a spot welding process. It is also a practice to employ a sealant composition between the welded metal parts which is intended to prevent ingress of moisture between them. If the seal is imperfect, moisture may penetrate between the welded parts which may lead to corrosion. We have observed that within such joints the onset of corrosion is noticed particularly in the region of the welds. It would be highly advantageous if one could provide a sealant composition which can be used in such a process and which is capable of leading to a re¬ duced level of corrosion within the joint. It is known to employ metallic zinc in compos¬ itions for corrosion resistant treatments, for example, paints. However, in order to obtain an adequate level of corrosion resistance it is usual to employ sufficient zinc to ensure that the layer of composition laid down f omthe composition has a substantial amount of zinc at its sur- face in order to exhibit a corrosion resistant effect. It is usual to employ in excess of 60% zinc by weight of the composition. Use of such substantial quantities of zinc in permanently plastic deformable sealant ccmposi- tions tends to adversly influence the sealing properties of the composition. Disclosure of the Invention Surprisingly we have now found .that sealant compositions suitable for use as spot welding sealants and which are " based upon thermoplastic synthetic poly¬ meric materials and which include comparatively small amounts of finely divided zinc may be used in aspot weld¬ ing process to yield joints which are remarkably less prone to corrosion. The.invention provides in one of its various aspects a sealant composition capable cf application in the form of a plastic mass to metal parts and of pro¬ viding a deformable seal bonded to the metal parts after the metal parts have been secured together by spot welc- ing with the sealant between them, characterised in that the sealant composition comprises -thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and finely divided zinc to an extent of up to 15% by weight of the composition. The sealant composition is suitably a thermo- plastic composition substantially free of solvent which may be applied at elevated temperatures, for example, at 100 to 150 C, for example, by means of a pump, or at room temperature as a preformed strip or foil. Preferably the composition is to some extent plastic or deformable under comparatively light pressure at room temperatures of the order of 20 - 3°C, and retains this characteristic to a high degree during its working life. Naturally, it is important to select a composi¬ tion which will not give rise to safety or other hazards during handling or use. In particular, temperatures reached during spot welding may be of the order of 1000°C or more and it is therefore important to select a sealant composition which can be used at such temperatures. For example, the sealant composition must not degrate co p- letely, nor must it flow from * the joint to an undesirable ex ent. C H It is highly desirable that the sealant comp¬ osition has adequate tackiness and adhesion character¬ istics to ensure desired permanence of bonding of the composition to the metal parts to be sealed. Some abil- ity to flow a little to take up progressive changes in shape of the metal parts may also be desirable but it is of importance to ensure that the sealant does not sag significantly or flow out of the joint during normal conditions of use. In addition, it is important that the sealant composition does not permit transmission of moisture through the joint to a significant extent and thus a sealant composition of low moisture vapour trans¬ mission rate is highly, desirable. Preferred polymeric materials for the sealant composition are polybutenes and polyisobutylenes, although other ' polymeric materials are contemplated, for example, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers, polyethylene, atactic polypropylene, butyl rubber and mixtures thereof. These polymeric materials may be compounded with other polymers, e.g. thermoplastic block copolymers, tackifying or other resins, for example rosin, rosin ester, hydrocarbon resin (e.g. a betapinene or coumarone-indene resin), melamine formaldehyde resins, phenolic resins, terpene resins, and other resins known in the adhesives art. Waxes, extending oils and plast- icisers may also be employed in the composition to achieve a sealant composition having a desirable blend of properties in application and use as mentioned above. Preferred compositions comprise butyl rubber to an extent of 5 to 50% by weight, more preferably 10 to 20% by weight of the composition, polybutene to an extent of 5 to 50% by weight, more preferably 15 to 30% by weight of the composition, polyisobutylene to an extent of 0 to 20% by weight, more preferably 4 to 15% byweight of the composition, finely divided inorganic compound to an extent of 10 to 50% " more preferably 20 to 35% by weight of the composition and tackifying resin to an O PI ^ extent of 5 to 50% more preferably 10 to 20% by weight of the composition. The zinc used is finely divided in order to enable thorough and uniform dispersion throughout the sealant composition, and to facilitate heating of the zinc during spot welding. Whilst particle sizes and their distribution in the zinc do not seem to beespecial¬ ly important, we prefer to use zinc powder having a part- icle size of about 10 —3mm- . It will be appreciated that a uniform distribution f the zinc throughout the comp¬ osition is important in order reproducibly to achieve desired corrosion protection. In carrying out a method according to the inven¬ tion, metal e.g. mild steel parts intended to be spot welded together are prepared and brought together, with those parts which are to be spot welded together aligned in overlapping relationship. Preparation of the parts is carried out to an * appropriate extent in accordance with the condition of the metal. Some oil on the metal is not detrimental, for example, freshly pressed steel sheets for use in manufacture.of car bodies normally re¬ quire no descaling or degreasing, whereas corroded or heavily oiled steel may require descaling and or degreasing prior to spot welding.. - Following alignment of the parts, a mass of sealant composition is applied to one of the metal parts e.g. as a foil, and the parts are pressed together with the composition between the parts to provide a foil of composition about 0.5 to 1mm thick between the parts. The foil is arranged to be of suf- ficient size to extend up to the exposed edge of the • joint and to extend between the metal parts in those areas which are .to be spot welded. The parts are clamped in the desired location. The location for spot welds is marked, and a conventional spot welding device applied to weld the parts together. Welds are formed through the sealant composi- OM?I - 5 - tion. We have found that even small amounts of zinc are beneficial in reducing the incidence of corrosion on the steel parts joined by spot welding using a sealant composition according to the invention. Amounts as small as 1% properly distributed through the sealant mass show a significant effect, amounts of about 5% and about 10% show more significant effects, and it appears unnecessary to employ amounts in excess of 15% by weight of the comp- osition in order to achieve a highly acceptable level of corrosion resistance. This is surprising in view of the previous under¬ standing in the art that substantial quantities of zinc are necessary in order to achieve an acceptable level of corrosion resistance. The reason for this surprising result is not fully understood. However, without wishing to be bound by anyparticular theory, one can postulate that during application of heat at the time of spot weld¬ ing, the organic content of the sealant composition im- mediately adjacent the point of welding is decomposed or burned away. One could suppose that zinc metal is vapour- ised at this time and becomes deposited on the metal im¬ mediately adjacent the weld. Possibly a galvanising..of the metal occurs, or possibly an alloying occurs at the surface of steel parts, rendering the metal parts there¬ after more resistant to corrosion. The invention provides in another of its aspects a method in whichr.metal parts are joined together by welding with a sealant composition interposed between the parts characterised in that the sealant composition is capable of application in the form of a plastic mass to the metal parts and of providing a deformable seal bonded to the metal parts after the metal parts have been se¬ cured together by spot welding and comprises thermo- plastic synthetic polymeric material and finely divided zinc to an extent of up to 15% by weight of the composi- O 7I IrO tion. Mode of carrying out the invention In order that the invention may become more clear there now follows by way of example a detailed des¬ cription of three illustrative sealant compositions con¬ taining different amounts of zinc powder, and their use in spot welding of metal parts. It is to be clearly understood that the illustrative compositions and methods have been selected for description to illustrate the in¬ vention by way of example only and are not by way of lim¬ itation thereof. The example compositions comprised an initmate mixture of thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material, fillers, extender oil and rosin together with varying amounts of zinc powder. A masterbatch composition was made up comprising the following materials. Ingredients Parts by weight Polybutene 25 Polyisobutylene 5 Butyl rubber 1 5 Finely divided CaC0 3 30 Extender oil 4 Rosin 15 Block copolymer (A-B-A Type) 5 Pigment 0.5 Antioxidant 0.5 A comparative example sealant composition con¬ sisted of a portion of the masterbatch ' composition. Il¬ lustrative sealant compositions 1 , 2 and 3 comprised por- tions of the masterbatch composition, and a further 1, 5 and 10 parts by weight respectively of finely divided -"δJRl OMPI zinc powder per hundred parts by weight of the master- batch composition. The first, second and third illus¬ trative sealant compositions thus comprised 1, 4.8 and 9% by weight finely divided zinc. Four sets of test samples were prepared as follows. Sheets of each sealant composition approx¬ imately 0.5 to 1mm thick were placed between pairs of sheets of steel 25mm by 25mm which had been degreased and descaled prior to application of the sealant. The metal plates were pressed together with the sealant between them. A centre punch was used to mark the location of spot welds on the plates. Spot welds were formed at the marks by the method described above. After cooling in a flow of nitrogen, excess sealant was removed from the plates. The samples were aged at 60 C and 95% humidity. The bond. strength of the welded joints was determined by a tensile shear test, and the progress of corrosion with¬ in the joint was assessed by observation at.time intervals of 1 week, 1 month, 4 months and 8 months. The results are shown in Table 1. In Table 1 the comparative example composition is designated "O" and the first, second and third illustrative examples are designated 1, 5 and 10. From Table 1 it can be seen that the samples including the third illustrative composition showed con¬ siderably less evidence of corrosion than those which included the comparative example composition, particularly at the 4 and 8 month determinations. From an inspection of the values for bonding strength given in Table 1 it can be seen that the bond strength also is influenced by the zinc content of the composition. For samples aged for 1 week or 1 month, the bonding strengths achieved are substantially of the same order. However, for s * amples aged for 4 or 8 months, in line with corrosion results, the order of values for the bond strengths for samples including the comparative example composition are less, by a factor of about two times than those for samples including the third ilus- trative composition. With samples aged 4 or 8 months, the samples including the first and second illustrative compositions also show a higher bond strength than the samples including the comparative example composition. OMPI TABLE 1 Ageing Time Example Bonding Number of at 60°C/95% Corrosion Assessment Samples Humidity Compositions Strength (Newton) Tes ed 1 week 0 7500 3x slight, 1x none, 1x distinct 5 1 7300 1x slight, 4x none 5 5 8300 1x slight, 2x none, 2x distinct 5 10 6700 2x slight, 3x none 5 1 'month 0 8100 3x slight, 1x none, 1x distinct 5 1 9400 1x slight, 4x none 5 I 5 8100 1x slight, 2x none, 2x distinct 5 10 7800 2x slight, 3x none 5 I 4 months 0 5900 1x intense 1 1 8600 2x slight 2 5 8200 2x none 2 10 10200 1x slight, 1x none 2 8 months 0 5400 1x distinct, 1x intense 2 1 7500 1x slight, 3x none, 1x distinct 5 5 8700 2x none, 1x distinct 3 10 9100 1x slight, 2x none 3

Claims: 352 10 - . Claims : 1. A sealant composition capable of appli¬ cation in the form of a plastic mass to metal parts and of providing a deformable seal bonded to the metal parts after the metal parts have been secured together by spot welding with the sealant between them, characterised in that the sealant composition comprises thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and finely divided zinc to an extent of up to 15% by weight of the composition. 2. A composition according to claim 1 characterised in that the thermoplastic synthetic poly¬ meric material comprises butyl rubber to an extent of 5 to 50% by weight of the composition. ' 3. A composition according to either one of claims 1 and 2 characterised in that the thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material comprises 5 to' 50% byweight polybutene. 4. A composition according to any .one of claims 1 , 2 and 3 characterised in that the thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material comprises 0 to 20% byweight polyisobutylene. 5. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims comprising 10 to 50% byweight finely divided inorganic compound as filler. 6. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the zinc is - present to an-extentof 10% by weightof the composition. 7. A sealant composition according to any one of the preceding claims comprising 5 to 50% byweight - 1 1 - 1 of a tackifying resin. 8. A thermoplastic sealant composition de¬ formable under light pressure at room temperature and 5 comprising 15 to 30% by weight polybutene, 10 to 20% by weight butyl rubber, 10 to 20% by weight tackifying resin, 20 to 35% by weight finely divided inorganic compound and 0.5 to -15% by weight finely divided zinc. 10 9. A method in which metal parts are joined together by welding with a sealant composition inter¬ posed between the parts characterised in that the sealant composition is capable of application in the form of a plastic mass to the metal parts and of providing a de- 15 formable seal bonded to the metal parts after the metal parts have been secured together by spot welding and comprises thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and finely divided zinc to an extent of up to 15% by weight of the composition. 20 10. A method according to claim 9 character- . ised in that the sealant composition. is applied to oneof the metal parts and the parts are pressed together to provide a foil of composition from 0.5 to 1mm thick be- 25 tween.the parts. 11. A method according to claim10 character¬ ised in that the sealant composition is applied at 100°C to 150 C by means of a pump, or as a preformed strip or 30 foil.

Inventors: SYMIETZ DETLEF DR
Applicants: BOSTIK LTD, EMHART AUSTRALIA, USM CORP, EMHART AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Application year: 1982
Main classification: B23K35
IPC codes: B23K11, B23K35, C09K3