Repair of carbon composites

Published on 16 Apr 2022. Written by Dineshkumar E

The growth in the use and application of composite in the worldwide industry is very high nowadays. The replacing cost of the material is high in case of any damage that occurs on the composite. Hence the repair of a composite is done to reduce the maintenance cost. The Composite material is made up of two or more materials having different physical properties.

Read more..

It has a high strength to weight ratio because of this reason only it is widely used in aircraft and automobile industries. For making fuselage, rudder, helicopter rotor blades and frames in cars. Carbon Composite creates a unique and beautiful surface finish.Carbon fibre reinforced polymer, carbon fibre reinforced plastic, or carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic, is extremely strong and light that contains carbon fibres.

Project Description

1. First, the damage created on the material is to be assessed. The depth and width of the damage are measured, based on that the material required for repair is chosen.
2. The materials around the damaged location are to be removed so that the repairing process is not affected.
3. After removing the material around the damaged area, the damaged area is cleaned properly so that there is no fiber dust on the material.
4. Based on the damage the required amount of carbon fiber is placed on the damaged area.
5. The carbon fiber is placed one by one and the epoxy resin is applied for each layer.
6. After placing the material in the damaged area, it is allowed to cure.
7. Sometimes it is placed in a compression molding machine to make the process effectively.

The following are the material used for repairing:

Carbon Fiber: It is the material which is placed in the damaged area, which is having a high strength to weight ratio.

Epoxy resins: It is used to harden the material and also acts as a curing agent.

Weight: It is placed over the repaired surface to prevent the build-up of air molecules between the layers of carbon fiber.

Conclusion:

This project enhances that the repair of composites done using the same material improves the
strength of the composite structure. Hence, it is concluded that the maintenance cost of the material is reduced by repairing rather than replacing the whole material. After the discovery of composite material aerospace and automobile industry has recorded notable use of it in manufacturing various components first to nearly most of the structural parts and use of it is rapidly growing.

Kit required to develop Repair of carbon composites:

• Carbon fiber
• Hardener
• Resin

Technologies you will learn by working on Repair of carbon composites:

• Composite material

Any Questions?