Effective bonding in solar thermal systems
Flat plate collectors, which are used by many households to generate hot water are the most popular solar thermal modules as a result of their relatively low price. The heart of their technology is a flat absorber, which is connected to the collector tubes underneath. Absorbed heat is transferred from the collector to the heat transfer fluid circulating in the tubing. At this point the gluing process has established itself as useful and extremely reliable. This is where thermally conductive adhesives come into play, which are an effective alternative to other connection techniques such as ultrasonic and laser welding or soldering for both thermal and mechanical connection of absorbers and collector tubes. In this way, combinations of aluminum and copper can be realized without any issues. The visible absorber surface remains free of welding marks, which enhances the aesthetics of the modules. Ultimately, the use of thermally conductive adhesives and their dispensing options saves cost-intensive investments in system technology for other joining processes.
Thermally conductive adhesives based on epoxy resins, which can form high-strength, aging-resistant bonds with various substrates, have proven themselves useful here. Generally, epoxy adhesives are available as one- or two-component systems. Our one-component epoxy resin adhesives must always be cured at temperatures above 100 °C, whereas two-component epoxy resin adhesives can be cured at room temperature. Due to their higher heat resistance, our one-component and hot-curing thermally conductive adhesives are preferred for bonding solar thermal modules. These can be easily applied from cartridges. After the absorber and collector have been joined, they can be cured in a matter of minutes using a heating press, depending on the selected hardening temperature.
Benefit from our wide-ranging expertise in thermally conductive bonding. A contact, that conducts!