Modelling the effects of patch-plug configuration on the impact performance of patch-repaired composite laminates

Liu, Haibao; Liu, Jun; Hall, Zoe E.C.; Brooks, Richard A.; Crocker, James W.M.; Joesbury, Adam M.; Harper, Lee T.; Blackman, Bamber R.K.; Kinloch, Anthony J.; Dear, John P.

Abstract

The patch-plug configuration has been widely used to repair composite structures and restore the structural integrity of damaged composites. In the present research, single-sided CFRP patch-repaired panels, with different patch-plug configurations, are prepared. This is where a circular-shaped damaged area has been removed and a CFRP patch has been adhesively-bonded onto the panel. In some cases, a CFRP plug is inserted into the hole, caused by removal of the damaged area, before the patch is applied. Such patch-repaired panels, and the pristine CFRP panel, are subjected to a low-velocity impact at an energy of 7.5 J. These impacted pristine and repaired panels are then examined using ultrasonic C-scan and optical microscopy to inspect the impact-associated permanent indentation, interlaminar and intralaminar damage. A finite element analysis (FEA) model, which significantly extends a previously validated elastic-plastic (E-P) numerical damage model, has been developed to predict the impact behaviour of the pristine CFRP panel and the various designs of patch-repaired CFRP panels. The comparison between the experimental and numerical results for all the studied cases shows the maximum deviations for the loading response and the damage area are 12% and 15%, respectively. The good agreement between the experimentally-measured impact properties and those predicted using the numerical model demonstrates that the model is a useful design tool.

Citation

Liu, H., Liu, J., Hall, Z. E., Brooks, R. A., Crocker, J. W., Joesbury, A. M., …Dear, J. P. (2023). Modelling the effects of patch-plug configuration on the impact performance of patch-repaired composite laminates. Composites Science and Technology, 233, Article 109917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.109917

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 7, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 9, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 11, 2023
• Journal: Composites Science and Technology
• Print ISSN: 0266-3538
• Publisher: Elsevier BV
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 233
• Article Number: 109917
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.109917
• Keywords: General Engineering; Ceramics and Composites
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15930011
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266353823000106?via%3Dihub