A Study of Composite Wet-Layup Bonded Repair for Aircraft

Abstract

New methods of aircraft repair are necessary since airframe makers commenced the design and manufacture of composite wide body aircrafts for airlines. This unprecedented change has accelerated the development of composite repair technology in aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry. To further optimise the composite repair, this research is aimed at developing a better understanding of the behaviour of aircraft composite wet-layup bonded repair. In the experimental testing, composite wet-layup bonded patch repair testing was conducted for different ply orientations and stacking sequences respectively. A benchmark FE model of composite wet-layup bonded patch repair was established by comparing the results of experiment and numerical analysis for the composite lay-up orientation of (45)2. The prediction for the ultimate strength of wet-layup patch repair agrees reasonably well with the experimental results and the use of ultimate strength obtained in PFA is recommended for ultimate load condition analysis.