Embedded resistive heating in composite scarf repairs

Abstract

Composite scarf repairs were cured using heat generated by passing an electrical current through a woven graphite-epoxy prepreg embedded in the bondline. Resistance heating using the embedded prepreg resulted in a more uniform temperature distribution in the bondline while preventing any potential thermal damage to the surface of the scarf repairs. In contrast, conventional surface heating methods such as heat blankets or heat lamps lead to large through thickness thermal gradient that causes non-uniform temperature in the bondline and overheating the outer surface adjacent to the heater. Composite scarf repair specimens were created using the proposed embedded heating approach and through the use of a heat blanket for circular and rectangular scarf configurations. Tensile tests were performed for rectangular scarf specimens, and it was shown that the bond strengths of all specimens were found to be comparable. The proposed embedded curing technique results in bond strengths that equal or exceed those achieved with external heating and avoids overheating the surface of the scarf repairs.