Adhesive formulations for bonding composite materials

1. An adhesive formulation comprising:

methacrylate monomer;

a resin material; and

a catalyst;

wherein the resin material comprises vinyl ester resin having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 450 to about 3000 and wherein the methacrylate monomer comprises phenoxyethyl methacrylate and/or ethoxylated 2-bisphenol A dimethacrylate.

2. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst is in an amount effective to provide a workable lifetime of the formulation for a period greater than one hour.

3. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 , wherein the vinyl ester resin comprises a reaction byproduct of an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid or an anhydride with an epoxy resin.

4. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises cobalt napthenate, acetylacetone, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, cobalt octoate, N,N-dimethyl aniline, N,N-dimethyl acetamide, N,N-dimethyl para-toluidine, and combinations thereof.

5. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises an amount of 0.05 to 1.5% by weight, based on the total weight of the adhesive formulation.

6. A method for adhesively attaching a first composite material to a second composite material comprising:

disposing the adhesive formulation according to claim 1 between the first and second composite materials; and curing the adhesive formulation to form a cured adhesive formulation to attach the first composite material to the second composite material.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the methacrylate monomer comprises phenoxyethyl methacrylate.

8. A method for forming a composite material, the method comprising:

preparing an infusion resin formulation;

layering a plurality of dry fiber plies to create a dry laminate material; infusing the infusion resin formulation into the dry laminate material for cr ting to create a fiber-reinforced resin composite, wherein the infusion resin formulation comprises the adhesive formulation of claim 1 and

curing the infusion resin to form a cured infusion resin in the fiber-reinforced resin composite to form a composite material.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the methacrylate monomer comprises phenoxyethyl methacrylate.

10. A composite material formed by the method of claim 8 .

11. A composite laminate formed by the method of claim 9 .

12. A composite material comprising:

a dry laminate material comprising a layered plurality of dry fiber plies; and

an infusion resin comprising the adhesive formulation of claim 1 wherein the infusion resin has been cured to bond at least a portion of the layered plurality of dry fiber plies together to form a bonded article.

13. The composite material of claim 12 , wherein the methacrylic monomer comprises phenoxyethyl methacrylate.

14. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 , wherein the vinyl ester resin further comprises an ethylenically unsaturated monomer.

15. The adhesive formulation of claim 14 , wherein the ethylenically unsaturated monomer is present in an amount of about 40 weight % to about 60 weight % based on the total weight of the vinyl ester resin present in the adhesive formulation.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the cured infusion resin has a glass transition temperature of greater than 70° C. and wherein the infusion resin has a viscosity of less than 500 centipoise.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein the vinyl ester resin further comprises an ethylenically unsaturated monomer.

18. The method of claim 6 , wherein the adhesive formulation has a viscosity less than 500 centipoise.

19. The method of claim 6 , wherein the cured adhesive formulation after curing has a glass transition greater or equal to 50° C.

20. The adhesive formulation according to claim 1 wherein the methacrylate monomer comprises phenoxyethyl methacrylate.

21. The adhesive formulation of claim 20 , wherein the adhesive formulation has a viscosity less than 500 centipoise.

22. A method for adhesively attaching a first composite material to a second composite material comprising:

disposing the adhesive formulation according to claim 20 between the first and second composite materials; and

curing the adhesive formulation to form a cured adhesive formulation to attach the first composite material to the second composite material;

wherein the adhesive formulation after curing has a glass transition temperature greater than or equal to 50° C.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the adhesive formulation has a viscosity less than 500 centipoise.

24. The method according to claim 23 wherein the cured adhesive formulation has a glass transition temperature greater than 70° C.

25. The adhesive formulation of claim 1 wherein the methacrylate monomer comprises ethoxylated 2-bisphenol A dimethacrylate.