The present invention relates to methods of fabricating laminates made from polymeric-matrix composite materials.
Parts made from polymeric-matrix composite materials form many components in modern automotive, aeronautical, and marine vehicles, as well as components in many other types of equipment and structures. Such parts may, from time to time, become damaged, thus requiring repair or replacement. It is often required or at least more cost effective to repair a damaged part than to replace the part. Conventional methods of repairing polymeric-matrix composite parts require the use of specialized tooling and double vacuum tool/processes, which require multiple staging operations and cure cycles, or specialized lay-up tools and autoclave processing, which is expensive and often impractical when used to facilitate a repair.
There are many ways to repair damaged polymeric-matrix composite parts that are well known in the art; however, considerable shortcomings remain.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the description. However, the invention itself, as well as, a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the leftmost significant digit(s) in the reference numerals denote(s) the first figure in which the respective reference numerals appear, wherein:
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The present invention represents a method for in-situ, multi-stage debulking, compaction, and single stage curing of thick composite repair laminates made from one or more polymeric-matrix composite materials. In one embodiment, the method is applied to the repair of an existing composite part. The method provides a composite part meeting the same laminate quality requirements as a thick laminate made using highly-pressurized autoclave processing. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “thick laminate” means a laminate made from more than about 10 plies of polymeric-matrix composite material.
Referring to
Referring now to
It should be noted that the debulking and compaction temperature is a temperature below a curing temperature of the polymer-matrix composite material and below a curing temperature of adhesive layer 103.
Referring now to
Once the total number of desired ply stacks have been debulked and compacted, e.g., third ply stack 301 in the illustrated embodiment, the bleeder material (not shown) and a sealing bag 401 remains covering ply stack assembly 305, as depicted in
It should also be noted that a damaged composite part 601, shown in
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. It is apparent that an invention with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present invention is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US2008/084984 | 11/26/2008 | WO | 00 | 5/12/2010 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2009/070737 | 6/4/2009 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100258235 A1 | Oct 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60990028 | Nov 2007 | US |