Repairs based on adhesively bonded fibre composite patches or reinforcements are standard procedure for repairing mechanical damage in thin-skinned graphite/epoxy and are becoming widely accepted for repairing cracks, corrosion and other defects in aluminium alloy airframe structure. However, bonded composite repairs although often more cost effective and efficient than mechanically fastened patch repairs, and thus a promising technology for extending the life of ageing aircraft, are generally limited to non-primary structure and to non-critical damage in primary structure. Perhaps the major obstacle to the application of bonded composite repairs to critical damage in primary structure is the cost of airworthiness certification. This paper discusses the critical issues in the certification in bonded repairs to primary structure and suggests a generic approach to minimise costs. Two case histories are described as examples: one a boron/epoxy repair to an F111 aluminium alloy wing skin the other a demonstrator scarf repair to a F/A-18 graphite/epoxy stabilator. Finally, the 'Smart-Patch' concept is discussed and an early attempt for using this approach to monitor in-service structural integrity of a critical boron/epoxy reinforcement of the F111 wing pivot fitting is described.
On the certification of bonded composite repairs to primary aircraft structure
Über die Zertifizierung von Instandsetzungen geklebter Verbundstoffe an der tragenden Flugzeugkonstruktion
1997
24 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 7 Tabellen, 34 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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