Damage Assessment of Composite Structures Using Digital Image Correlation

The steady increase of Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Structures in modern aircraft will reach a new dimension with the entry into service of the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350. Replacement of damaged parts will not be a preferable solution due to the high level of integration and the large size of the components involved. Consequently the need to develop repair techniques and processes for composite components is readily apparent. Bonded patch repair technologies provide an alternative to mechanically fastened repairs with significantly higher performance, especially for relatively thin skins. Carefully designed adhesively bonded patches can lead to cost effective and highly efficient repairs in comparison with conventional riveted patch repairs that cut fibers and introduce highly strained regions. In this work, the assessment of the damage process taking place in notched (open-hole) specimens under uniaxial tensile loading was studied. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques were employed to obtain full-field surface strain measurements in carbon-fiber/epoxy T700/M21 composite plates with different stacking sequences in the presence of an open circular hole. Penetrant enhanced X-ray radiographs were taken to identify damage location and extent after loading around the hole. DIC strain fields were compared to finite element predictions. In addition, DIC techniques were used to characterise damage and performance of adhesively bonded patch repairs in composite panels under tensile loading. This part of work relates to strength/stiffness restoration of damaged composite aircraft that becomes more important as composites are used more extensively in the construction of modern jet airliners. The behaviour of bonded patches under loading was monitored using DIC full-field strain measurements. Location and extent of damage identified by X-ray radiography correlates well with DIC strain results giving confidence to the technique for structural health monitoring of bonded patches.