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Title: Bonded Boron-Epoxy Composite Repair
and Reinforcement of Cracked Aluminium Structures Authors: T.E. Tay, F.S. Chau & C.J. Er Journal: Composite Structures 34 (1996)
339-347 Abstract In recent years,
the technique of reinforcing and repairing cracked aluminium aircraft
structures with composite patches has been gaining acceptance as an
alternative to bolted mechanical repairs, which often introduces undesirable
stress concentrations. To ensure a reliable and durable bond, various
parameters such as the quality of surface preparation prior to bonding and
the design of the composite reinforcement are very important. Often the
design of the composite patch is greatly influenced by the geometry of the
parent structure. This paper describes the design and testing of a composite
patch repair and reinforcement of a simulated aluminium structure with a
cracked bolt hole and a step change in geometry. It is shown that while the
unpatched specimens failed at about 10,000 cycles, the patched specimens
survived more than 200,000 cycles with very little crack growth. |