TABLE OF CONTENTS Gluing, an assembly technique known since time immemorial and developed in all sectors of human activity, is presently not very much used in civil engineering. And yet the engineer is always on the look-out for the best combination of the existing techniques in order to obtain constructions which are cheaper and more comfortable. Gluing forms a part of these techniques and should find its legitimate place. Taking these conditions into account, we felt the need to dedicate one chapter to this type of assembly, where organic binders play a fundamental role, and being aware at the same time of the difficulties encountered and the limited nature of the concerned applications. We will therefore consider gluing as an innovative process, even though this expression should make you smile since we know that it is a very old technique.
The fact is that materials and techniques evolve, that the adhesives available today are different from those available 20 years ago (not mentioning those of our ancestors), application techniques have also evolved and finally there is also a great change in the way glued assemblies are used today. Problems which appeared blocked on the technical point of view need to be readdressed periodically. One of these is the use of gluing in civil engineering.
As of now, gluing is not considered to be a reliable method of assembly by technicians in the building and civil engineering fields: both engineers and architects do not have...
