If adhesives are to be used in practical applications, such as for aerospace or marine components, it is
essential that their long-term behaviour when exposed to aggressive environments, natural or manmade,
should be known. The objective of this paper is to determine the liquid absorption behaviour of
epoxy adhesives under complete immersion in two solvents (water and toluene) at two different
temperatures (room temperature and 60 1C) and the effect on their glass transition temperature (Tg). The
specimens were periodically removed from their environment for weighing and Tg measurement, the
latter by using a rapid method which was developed previously by the authors. The rate of weight gain of
the specimen (sorption) and the equilibrium level were higher for the higher temperature immersion
than for the low temperature. The equilibrium level reached for toluene was higher than that of water.
The values of Tg were significantly influenced by the liquid uptake. Finally, heating to a temperature
above the Tg of the adhesive, even in a very short time, was found to significantly influence the results of
the liquid uptake.