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

2023; Elsevier BV; Volume: 233; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.109917

1879-1050

Haibao Liu, Jun Liu, Z. E. C. Hall, Richard A. Brooks, James W.M. Crocker, Adam M. Joesbury, L.T. Harper, B.R.K. Blackman, A. J. Kinloch, John P. Dear,

High-Velocity Impact and Material Behavior

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.