The production of renewable energy represents a relevant topic that day after day affects the life of every citizen more and more. Over the years, scientists and industries have been interested in the study of new renewable energy sources in order to give a concrete answer to the world's energy needs.
Among them the development of floating (offshore) wind turbines on a commercial scale grows considerably each year after that different countries have recognized them as the best solution for the production of sustainable energy. In order to satisfy the required needs of safety, serviceability, durability and affordability, new technologies are required: the actual connections and the secondary structures have to be replaced by a new one based on the bonding technique.
The vast majority of connections will be done using welding and perhaps some other mechanical joining process such as bolting or riveting. However, there are many situations where these joining processes are not the optimal solution also for safety reasons. In addition, avoidance of high welding temperatures leads to safer construction in hazardous environments and besides it will make positive contributions to the preservation and improvement of the quality of the environment by reducing the amount of welding slag created.
Adhesive bonding in the marine environment for offshore applications is still very much in its infancy in spite of some successes. However, much is still needed to establish this joining process as a standard process in offshore considering the design, fabrication and modification of offshore structures. In order to propose reliable solutions it is essential to be able to guarantee long-term properties and sufficient mechanical strength.
In fact, the long-term durability of joints in critical environments has been recognized as one of the factors which have limited more widespread application of adhesives for marine and offshore structures.
