Composite patch repairs for commercial aircraft: COMPRES

Abstract

Conventional methods of repair for metallic aircraft structures usually include the use of bolted or riveted metallic reinforcement by introducing the cutting of damaged areas, which is not suggested in aging cases, due to the reduction of strength. Although today the bonded repairs are considered more efficient than the mechanically fastened, each repair is looked-upon as tailored made for each job. However, for the industrial engineering and maintenance production line, there is a lack of appropriate technical manuals - standards and specifications to control the implementation of the repair as integrated method - from the design phase, up to application and quality assurance.