Provides repair methods for adhesive bonded and composite structures; identifies suitable materials and equipment for repairs; describes damage evaluation criteria and techniques, and methods of inspection before and after repair.

This handbook is written by two material and manufacturing process engineers with over 60 years of combined experience in government. The purpose of the book is to: (1) provide a standard method for repairing adhesive bonded and composite laminate structures; (2) identify suitable materials and equipment for making satisfactory repairs, and (3) discuss methods by which structures may be inspected both before and after repair. It is designed as a reference manual. The intended audience includes anyone who needs to find recommended information on materials or procedures for adhesive bonded structural repair that meets applicable safety and health standards.

This Handbook provides methods of repair for adhesive bonded and composite structures, the identification of suitable materials and equipment for repairs, and methods of inspection before and after repair. Repair methods included are for composite laminates containing fiberglass, graphite, or Kevlar reinforcements in organic matrices, and sandwich structures containing honeycomb, foam or balsa cores with either metallic or composite laminate skins. Materials, tools, and equipment used in repairs are also described and their sources are presented.

The conventional approach to through-life-support for aircraft structures can be divided into the following phases: (i) detection of defects, (ii) diagnosis of their nature and significance, (iii) forecasting future behaviour-prognosis, and (iv) pre scription and implementation of remedial measures including repairs. Considerable scientific effort has been devoted to developing the science and technology base for the first three phases. Of particular note is the development of fracture mechanics as a major analytical tool for metals, for predicting residual strength in the presence of cracks ( damage tolerance) and rate of crack propagation under service loading. Intensive effort is currently being devoted to developing similar approaches for fibre composite structures, particularly to assess damage tolerance and durability in the presence of delamination damage. Until recently there has been no major attempt to develop a science and tech nology base for the last phase, particularly with respect to the development of repairs. Approaches are required which will allow assessment of the type and magnitude of defects amenable to repair and the influence of the repair on the stress intensity factor (or some related parameter). Approaches are also required for the development and design of optimum repairs and for assessment of their durability.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. It presents the results of the ComBoNDT European project, which aimed at the development of more secure, time- and cost-saving extended non-destructive inspection tools for carbon fiber reinforced plastics, adhered surfaces and bonded joints. The book reports the optimal use of composite materials to allow weight savings, reduction in fuel consumptions, savings during production and higher cost efficiency for ground operations.

This handbook is the culmination of a five-phase program to develop standardized repair procedures for adhesively bonded aircraft structures. It recommends repair materials and processing methods. It identifies repair procedures for both small and large size repairs. It additionally includes information on equipment and tools and nondestructive inspection techniques. (Author).

A reference that offers comprehensive discussions on every important aspect of aluminum bonding for each level of manufacturing from mill finished to deoxidized, conversion coated, anodized, and painted surfaces and provides an extensive, up-to-date review of adhesion science, covering all significa