Method for covering elongated articles, in particular lines

1 . A method of jacketing elongate items with an adhesive tape comprising a carrier in strip form that has been provided on at least one side with a curable composition comprising one or more epoxy resins and at least one curing reagent for epoxy resins,

wherein at least one of the epoxy resins used is a fatty acid-modified epoxy resin and the curing reagent comprises at least one epoxy-amine adduct that is the reaction product of (A) at least one epoxy compound comprising a molecule having at least one cyclic ether group and (B) at least one amine compound, said at least one epoxy-amine adduct having a softening point of at least 100° C., said adhesive tape having a storability (Lf) as determined by dynamic differential calorimetry (DSC) of ≥0.84 after storage for 10 days at 60° C.,

said method comprising running the adhesive tape in a helical line around the elongate item or wrapping the elongate item by the adhesive tape in an axial direction, putting the elongate item together with the adhesive tape in a desired arrangement, holding the elongate item and the adhesive tape in this arrangement, and making the curable composition to cure by supplying thermal energy at a temperature between 120° C. and 200° C. for 10 to 120 minutes.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid-modified epoxy resin used comprises esterification products of bisphenol epoxy resins with saturated or unsaturated fatty acids.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the bisphenol epoxy resins are selected from the group consisting of bisphenol epoxy resin compounds of the following formula:

where the average of m is 0.07 to 16.4.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the bisphenol epoxy resins have an epoxy equivalent weight of between 180 g/eq and 5000 g/eq.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid-modified epoxy resin is an epoxy resin modified with a fatty acid selected from:

coconut oil fatty acid, ricinene fatty acid (fatty acid of dehydrated castor oil), linseed oil fatty acid, soya oil fatty acid, tall oil fatty acid, α-linolenic acid, stearidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, linoleic acid, γ-linolenic acid, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, docosa-7,10,13,16-tetraen-1-oic acid, palmitoleic acid, vaccenic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid, gadoleic acid, 13-eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, nervonic acid, stearic acid, or Mead's acid,

and/or dimers and/or oligomers of the aforementioned fatty acids.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the epoxy-amine adduct is used in particulate form.

7 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one epoxy compound having at least one cyclic ether group is a polyfunctional epoxy compound.

8 . The method as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the polyfunctional epoxy compound is a polyglycidyl ether, a polyglycidyl ether ester, a polyglycidyl ester, a glycidylamine, an epoxidized novolak, or an epoxidized polyolefin.

9 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the amine compound is a compound comprising at least one tertiary amino group.

10 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a further starting material added in the preparation of the epoxy-amine adduct is a stabilizing component.

11 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the stabilizing component is used in the presence of 0.05 to 5.0 molar equivalents of water per molar equivalent of epoxy groups in the compound of the epoxy-amine adduct having the at least one cyclic ether group.

12 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the amine compound conforms to one of the following general formulae:

where

X is —OH, —NH 2 , —NH or —SH,

R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of

hydrogen atoms,

C 1 — to C 20 -alkyl groups,

C 2 — to C 20 -alkenyl groups,

unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbyl groups,

substituted aromatic hydrocarbyl groups, optionally substituted by oxygen, halogen, —OH, —NH 2 , —NH and/or —SH,

R 3 is a saturated or unsaturated, unbranched or branched hydrocarbon chain having 1 to 20 carbon atoms,

R 4 is a saturated or unsaturated, unbranched or branched hydrocarbon chain having one to 20 carbon atoms,

R 5 is a cyclic aliphatic or aromatic, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon radical which has two bonds to the nitrogen atom and has 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and which may be partly substituted by heteroatoms,

R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and R 9 are independently selected from the group consisting of

hydrogen atoms,

C 1 — to C 20 -alkyl groups,

C 2 — to C 20 -alkenyl groups,

unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbyl groups,

substituted aromatic hydrocarbyl groups, optionally substituted by oxygen, halogen, —OH, —NH 2 , —NH and/or —SH, —OH, —NH 2 , —NH and/or —SH, with the proviso that

R 9 ═H, or that at least one of the R 6 , R 7 and/or R 8 groups is one of the —OH, —NH 2 , —NH or —SH groups.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the amine compound is selected from the group consisting of 2-dimethylaminoethanol, 1-methyl-2-dimethylaminoethanol, 1-phenoxymethyl-2-dimethylaminoethanol, 2-diethylaminoethanol, 1-butoxymethyl-2-dimethylaminoethanol, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2-methylimidazole, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-butoxypropyl)-2-methylimidazole, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-butoxypropyl)-2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2-phenylimidazoline, 1-(2-hydroxy-3-butoxypropyl)-2-methylimidazoline, 2-(dimethylaminomethyl) phenol, 2,4,6-tris(dimethylaminomethyl) phenol, N-β-hydroxyethylmorpholine, 2-dimethylaminoethylamine, 3-dimethylamino-n-propylamine, 2-diethylaminoethylamine, 3-diethylamino-n-propylamine, N-methylpiperazine, imidazole, 2-methylimidazole, 2-ethylimidazole, 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole, 2-isopropylimidazole, 2-undecylimidazole, 2-octadecylimidazole, 2-phenylimidazole, 2-phenyl-4-methylimidazole, 2-dimethylaminoethanethiol, methimazole, 2-mercaptobenzoimidazole, and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole.

14 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the curing reagent comprises one or more compounds other than the epoxy-amine adduct as curing agents or accelerators for the curing reaction of the fatty acid-modified epoxy resin.

15 . The method as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the curing agents or accelerators other than the epoxy-amine adduct are selected from the list of

dicyandiamide

anhydrides

blocked or unblocked imidazoles

hydrazides

reaction products of diacids and polyfunctional amines.

16 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the curable composition is a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

17 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the curable composition is in film form or has been introduced into a matrix in film form.

18 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein further epoxy resins other than the fatty acid-modified epoxy resin are present.

19 . A jacketed elongate item obtained according to claim 1 .

20 . A vehicle comprising a jacketed elongate item as claimed in claim 19 .