High Performance Toughening Agent: The SmartCore Technology provides exceptional impact resistance designed to withstand dynamic stresses. It allows Sika to formulate SikaPower® two component cold curing epoxies. This bridges the performance gap to one component heat curing epoxy systems traditionally used to bond automotive lightweight structures and the cold curing 2C-epoxy systems used in construction. Markets: Transportation, Wind, General Industry, Agricultural and Construction Vehicles
High performance toughening agent
Over the course of modern history, new epoxy systems with improved toughness have emerged - most of them claiming to have superior toughness over conventional epoxy systems. However, the achieved level of toughness strongly correlated with the elastic modulus. The increased toughness of classic 2C-epoxy adhesives resulted in an undesirable drop of stiffness and capability to carry high mechanical loads. The SmartCore toughener patented by Sika breaks this correlation. SikaPower® two component epoxy adhesives toughened by SmartCore display a superior level of toughness by retaining extremely high mechanical properties.
Durability
In the automotive industry, the dynamic impact peel test is an established method to determine the toughness of an adhesive on steel substrates. SikaPower®-1277 and SikaPower®-1200 provide superior dynamic impact peel performance without compromising on mechanical strength and modulus when compared to commercially available cold curing 2C epoxy adhesives used in the general market today. With the SmartCore technology Sika clearly sets new standards in terms of highly toughened 2C epoxy adhesives providing highest fatigue performance levels. This can even be achieved by room temperature curing epoxies bridging the performance gap between todays cold- and heat-curing epoxy adhesives. The gap between cold- and heat-curing epoxy adhesives can be bridged.