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Abstract
Results concerning the crystallization of a hot melt adhesive are presented. This adhesive was a liquid at high temperature (160°C) and was deposited on a wood slab kept at ambient temperature. Cooling can be enhanced by circulating air above the adhesive. The temperature within the adhesive and the wood were measured versus time under three conditions: when the cooling of the upper external part of the adhesive was due to free convection; when it was due to forced convection (to simulate the moving of the assembly line), and in the case where a second wood slab was placed to simulate a joint. It was observed that for a sufficiently thick adhesive film the cooling was slowed down by heat transfer to the wood. A model combining the heat conduction and the kinetic law of crystallization is presented. This model permits the prediction of the evolution of temperature at each point in the adhesive or in the wood for different geometries. The beginning of the crystallization at each point in the adhesive is also predicted. By knowing the rheological properties of the adhesive versus temperature, using the model giving the variation of temperature versus time, one can determine the variation of storage and loss moduli versus time.
