Abstract

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are widely used in aerospace industries nowadays. Repairing of the cracks in these advanced materials was first done by some aeronautical laboratories in early 1970s. In this study, experimental investigations were done on the effect of repairing the center-cracked aluminum plates using the FML patches. The repairing processes were conducted to characterize the response of the repaired structures to tensile tests. The composite patches were made of one aluminum layer and two woven glass-epoxy composite layers. Three different crack lengths in three crack angles and different patch lay-ups were examined. It was observed that no matter what the crack length was, the more the crack angle is larger, the more ultimate tensile strength of the structure became. It was also indicated that the patch lay-up had an important effect on the tensile response of the repaired specimens. When the aluminum layer of the patches was farther from the repair zone, the ultimate tensile strength reached to its maximum value.

Highlights

  • Fibre–metal laminates (FMLs) are hybrid structures based on thin metal sheets and of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) plies

  • The tensile behavior of the cracked aluminum plates repaired with FML patches was studied by changing three factors i.e. crack length, crack angle and Article published by EDP Sciences

  • The results were discussed and the effects of the desired factors were clarified on improving the ultimate tensile strength of the aluminum cracked specimens repaired by the FML patches

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Summary

Introduction

Fibre–metal laminates (FMLs) are hybrid structures based on thin metal sheets and of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) plies These hybrid material systems combine the excellent specific strength, and fatigue properties of composites and the machinability and toughness of metals [1]. They were initially developed at the National Aerospace Laboratory in Netherlands, after fatigue studies on the centre wings of a Fokker F-27 showed that bonded metal laminates presented promising fatigue properties. Subsequent enhancement of their mechanical properties at the Technological Delft University resulted into commercially available FMLs under the trade name of ARALL (aramid fibre/aluminum) and GLARE (glass fibre/aluminum) [2]. The tensile behavior of the cracked aluminum plates repaired with FML patches was studied by changing three factors i.e. crack length, crack angle and Article published by EDP Sciences

Ashenai Ghasemi
Cracked aluminum plates
FML patches
Results and discussions
The effect of crack angles and lengths
The effect of FML patch lay-ups
Conclusions

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