Oak Ridge National Laboratory and 3M are teaming up to study whether adhesives can be developed to join heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration components. Using neutron imaging capabilities at the lab's High Flux Isotope Reactor, the research team will characterize novel aluminum-to-copper adhesive bonding materials at the microscopic level.
The ability to non-invasively quantify the adhesive's coverage and evaluate geometric pathways that affect joining strength could ultimately improve efficiency and performance when applied in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems.