Abstract
Today, numerous carbon fiber (CF) reinforced plastic (CFRP) components are in continuous usage under harsh environmental conditions. New components often replace damaged structural parts in safety-critical applications. In addition to this, there is also no effective repair method to initially restore the mechanics of these structures using dry fiber material. The high costs of CFRP components are not in proportion to their lifetime. The research project IGF-19946 BR “CFRP-Repair” addresses this specific challenge. By using an oxide semiconductor that is activated by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the thermoset matrix can be depolymerized and thus locally removed from the damaged CFRP component. Afterward, the harmed fibers can be physically removed from the laminate in this certain area. A load-adjusted tailored fiber reinforcement patch is subsequently applied and consolidated by local thermoset re-infiltrating. Using this procedure, the structure can be locally repaired with new CF. As a result, repaired CFRP structures can be obtained with reduced mechanics and an approximately original surface. This article gives an insight into the developed repair procedure of CFRP components in an innovative and more efficient way than the state-of-the-art.
Highlights
Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) offer a high lightweight design potential due to their high mechanical characteristics, which is why they are widely used in many industries, e.g., automotive, wind energy, civil engineering, sports and leisure [1,2,3,4,5]
Three different series of damaged samples have been repaired with different patch materials: UD, Tailored fiber placement (TFP), Multilayer weft knitting (MLG) (Sections 1 and 2.1) and the results are compared to the ‘reference’
With the help of the developed repair procedure for CFRP described in the presented study, completely damaged CFRP components up to a thickness of 1.5 mm and no residual capacity could be repaired with a recovered breaking force of up to 55% of the undamaged
Summary
Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) offer a high lightweight design potential due to their high mechanical characteristics, which is why they are widely used in many industries, e.g., automotive, wind energy, civil engineering, sports and leisure [1,2,3,4,5].CFRP components usually have high production costs and restricted recyclability and, above all, poor repair opportunities [1,2,6]. There are several approaches to repair CFRP structures, e.g., the scarf method or doubler method [7,11,12,13] These initial repair processes are always associated with high manual effort and manufacturing expenses and often significantly reduce the composite strength of the repaired component or cause extra weight. The early end of life (EOL) leads to a decrease in profitability of the use of CFRP and a decrease in its lightweight design potential. This significantly reduces the reliability of CFRP production, which is, in any case, highly energy-consuming
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