Repairs of composite structures
Abstract
Repair on damaged composite panels was conducted. To better understand adhesively bonded repair, the study investigates the effect of design parameters on the joint strength. The design parameters include bondline length, thickness of adherend and type of adhesive. Adhesives considered in this study were tested to measure their tensile material properties. Three types of adhesively bonded joints, single strap, double strap, and single lap joint were considered under changing bondline lengths, thickness of adherend and type of adhesive. Based on lessons learned from bonded joints, a one-sided patch repair method for composite structures was conducted. The composite patch was bonded to the damaged panel by either film adhesive FM-73M or paste adhesive EA-9394 and the residual strengths of the repaired specimens were compared under varying patch sizes. A new repair method using attachments has been suggested to enhance the residual strength. Results obtained through experiments were analyzed using finite element analysis to provide a better repair design and explain the experimental results. It was observed that the residual strength of the repaired specimen was affected by patch length. Method for rapid repairs of damaged composite structures was investigated. The damage was represented by a circular hole in a composite laminated plate. Pre-cured composite patches were bonded with a quick-curing commercial adhesive near (rather than over) the hole. Tensile tests were conducted on specimens repaired with various patch geometries. The test results showed that, among the methods investigated, the best repair method restored over 90% of the original strength of an undamaged panel. The interfacial stresses in the adhesive zone for different patches were calculated in order to understand the efficiencies of the designs of these patch repairs. It was found that the composite patch that yielded the best strength had the lowest interfacial peel stress between the patch and the host composite structure.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Pipes, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Aerospace engineering
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