Bonding of Composites: Design, Testing and Repair

David Johnson

Wessex Resins and Adhesives

I am an expert in the vast topic of resins, adhesives, fibre reinforcement and composite processing, from hand laminating with polyester resin and chopped strand mat to vacuum assisted resin infusion in epoxy, glass or carbon fibre.

My career spans 43 years of experience in Yacht and boat manufacture using both composite and wood materials.

My capabilities extend to yacht repair and renovation, using epoxy resin, may that be hands on or in an advisory role.

Passing on this level of proficiency undoubtedly enables my customers to optimise their work methods through proffering realistic and logical manufacturing, processing or repair solutions. All my customers value, trust and appreciate my advice.

This is a remarkably agreeable way to make a sale whilst adding immense value to our company and our WEST SYSTEM and PRO SET epoxy products.

I have worked with and provided close technical support to Yacht manufacturing projects in the UK and Overseas, often with distributors, where I have provided valuable on site assistance and product training.

Delivering day lectures at Boat Building Colleges is a skill I have developed over 25 years. I have been invited as guest speaker at numerous well known trade events and seminars.

I have created, formatted and run courses for the use of both polyester resin and epoxy resin techniques. I have educated over 3500 individual course delegates over the last 25 years.

My abundance of enthusiasm for my craft allows me to convey precise information with the highest decision maker in a company, whilst still being able to provide technical support and a sympathetic explanation for a customer working on a small project who has mixed his epoxy incorrectly.

I have educated and animated a highly skilled team within my company who work with me closely and faithfully. I have been an exhibitor at an immense number of marine shows.

Well known in the industry, I have made great trusted friendships with all my customers and staff.

Professor John Dear

Director of the BIAM Centre, Imperial College London

John has been an academic for over 30 years in the Mechanics of Materials Division of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining Imperial in 1988, John was an SERC Research Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University where he did his first degree and PhD. John has been successful in obtaining research grants from the UK and US Government (EPSRC, ONR, MRC & DTI/TSB), European Commission, UK and overseas companies. He is Director of the BIAM Centre, at Imperial College London and Executive Joint Director of the AVIC Centre, at Imperial College London.  His research expertise is structural integrity of materials including manufacturing and micro-structural effects. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture. 

Professor Robert D Adams FIMechE FInstP ACGI CEng

 Emeritus Professor of Applied Mechanics , University of Bristol 

Professor Robert D. Adams, BSc[Eng], DSc[Eng]  (London), PhD, ScD  (Cambridge),  

FIMechE, FInstP, ACGI, CEng,  

Joint Editor in Chief, International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives 

Emeritus Professor of Applied Mechanics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol 

 Academic career mainly at Bristol University in Department of Mechanical Engineering since 1967. Visiting Professor at Oxford 2006-2020 

Main research interests in composite materials and sandwich structures:  damping and dynamic elastic moduli; strength; interlaminar shear behaviour; non-destructive testing; mechanical properties of the polymeric matrices; design and manufacture of composite components; adhesive bonding; impact; mathematical modelling and strength prediction. 

Steve Shaw

No bio provided

Dr Ewen J C Kellar

TWI

Ewen has been active in the field of adhesive and associated technologies for over thirty years with the majority of his time spent at TWI, supporting a wide client base with their various bonding requirements. Originally reading Chemistry at Edinburgh, he went on to gain his doctorate at University of East Anglia in surface science, followed by postdoctoral work first at Swansea and then at Queen Mary’s University of London. It was at QMUL where he first encountered adhesive technology, learning how to compound and measure the properties of a hot-melt adhesive developed for children’s nappies. He then joined TWI to work within the adhesives and composites section where the many needs of industrial clients have kept him occupied ever since. Applications in almost every industry sector have always made for an interesting career ranging from repairing tunnels for the London Underground, through bonding flights for badminton shuttlecocks to developing sealant delivery systems for aircraft wings. He has authored over 50 papers and articles, contributed chapters in a number of noteworthy texts on the subject and is the joint patent holder for the hybrid joining process, Comeld™.