Investigation of composite repair method by liquid resin infiltration

Abstract

‘Conventional' or certified repair procedures for impacted composite structures (i.e. patches) are time consuming, and must be performed by highly qualified staff. In this paper, a cost effective and simple repair method by liquid resin infiltration is studied. As damages on aircraft structures are generally due to impact, this kind of damage is characterised and compared to quasi-static indentation with ultrasonic inspection and micrographic cuts. The repair by liquid resin is used to fill in the very special damage pattern region organised as a crack network (delamination and transverse cracks). In order to study this new repair method, an experimental set-up has been manufactured and different configurations have been studied. Mechanical testing (CAI, DCB and ENF) was then performed to evaluate the strength of this repair. As good results were achieved, further exploration under complex loading should be performed to ensure the quality of the repair for an industrial application.