Challenge
In a war situation, submarines rely on stealth technologies to remain hidden from the enemy and to keep crew members safe. Over the years, the MOD has developed ‘acoustic cladding’ solutions that make submarines extremely hard to locate and, therefore, to attack. For these kinds of solutions, state-of-the-art acoustic tiles are attached to the hulls of submarines to absorb and deflect enemies’ sonar signals.
To protect submarines and their crews effectively, the adhesive used to hold acoustic tiles in position must be very strong and durable. Specifically, it must be able to resist extremely harsh marine conditions and cope with massive changes in pressure as submarines move up and down in the water.
John Hargreaves, Project Lead at BAE Systems, says, “As submarines dive, acoustic tiles compress, straining the bond to the steel hull underneath. To ensure that tiles stay in position and protect crew members’ lives, we need to attach them using adhesives that can take that strain day in day out for the entire lifetime of a submarine – typically up to 25 years.”
Solution
BAE Systems uses Wessex Resins epoxy to attach acoustic tiles to the hulls of its submarines. “First, we prepare the hull with a Wessex Resins epoxy primer, which has excellent wetting out capabilities, which means that it flows easily over the steel surface,” says Hargreaves. “Once this primer has cured, we use a specially formulated Wessex Resins epoxy adhesive to create a strong, durable bond between the tiles and the hull itself.”
To ensure that tiles are never dropped at sea, BAE Systems always uses the same, tried-and-tested application process. “There’s no machine to tell us if tiles are stuck properly, so the consistency of the adhesion process is a critical success factor for us,” says Hargreaves. “By repeating the process in exactly the same way every time, we can be sure that the tiles will stay in place for as long as we need them to.” Wessex Resins thoroughly tests all batches of the primer and adhesive before they leave the factory, ensuring the highest levels of quality and consistency for BAE Systems. “We need suppliers whose products mirror the consistency of our tiling process,” says Hargreaves. “That’s exactly what we get with Wessex Resins.”
