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Maintain Composite Structures

M3 - Damages in Composites

W2007-AR-CCU-202E-1=270717

EU4-M3-1
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Training Objectives

• The objectives of this module are to enable participants to

be able to identify damages on composites

• Learning Outcomes:
• Know the type and classification of composite damages

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Introduction

There are many types of composite defects and damage that

can arise.

There are a number of damage types that significantly

reduce the residual strength of composites. The drops in
residual strength are related to damage type and size. In
the case of impact damage, compression, shear and
tensile strength can all be reduced.

Damage includes any and every type of permanent

deformation or alteration to any cross section of a structural
component.

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Sources of Damage
Damage to glass-fibre components can result from a number of
causes, such as rain or hail erosion, lightning strikes or static
discharges, and bird strikes or other impacts.
Damages can result from
• dropped tools, service vehicle, or work-stand collisions,
• aircraft-handling accidents, dropped parts,
• improperly installed fasteners,
• bird strikes, foreign object impacts (e.g., runway debris),
• overheating, fluid contamination,
• flight overloads, and sonic fatigue.

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Types of Composite Damages

• Cosmetic defect
• Impact damage
• Delamination
• Cracks
• Hole damage Cosmetic Defect do not have any
• Contamination significance to the structural integrity
• Heat
• Erosion
• Corrosion

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Impact Damage
Foreign object impact causing dents or penetrations may
include matrix cracks, fiber breaks, delaminations, and element
debonding.
Significance to structural integrity
The size and detectability determine the
safety threat. Small damages that are
covered by composite design criteria (e.g.,
barely visible impact damage) are usually
not a safety threat because the structure is
substantiated with such damage present
for the life of the aircraft.
Larger damages may remain hidden depending on the nature
of the impact event.

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Delamination
This form of composite damage occurs at the interface
between the layers in the laminate, along the bondline
between two elements, and between facesheets and the
core of sandwich structures.

Significance to structural integrity

Since delaminations and debonds break the laminate into
multiple sublaminates and reduce the effective stiffness of
bonded structural assemblies, they reduce structural stability
and strength, posing a safety threat.
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Delamination
Delaminations can form due to stress concentrations at
laminate-free edges, matrix cracks, or structural details (e.g.,
radii and ply drops). Delaminations may form due to poor
processing or low-energy impact. Debonds may also form
similarly.
Underlying damage
can extend to a much
greater extent in
laminate structures.
The damage does not extend through
the full length of the part. The effects on
the mechanical performance depends
Debond –
on the length of split relative to the
Laminating Splitting component thickness.

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Crack
These types of damage are defined as a fracture of the
laminate through the entire thickness (or a portion of the
thickness) and involve both fiber breakage and matrix damage.
Cracks typically are caused by impact events, but can be the
result of excessive local loads (either in the panel acreage or at
a fastener hole).

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Scratches and Gouges

These types of damage are not critical if the damage is limited
to the outer layer of resin without any damage to the fibers. If the
fibers are damaged, they must be treated as a crack in the
affected plies. Unlike metals, composite matrix nicks, scratches,
and gouges are not likely to grow under repeated loads.
Disbond
• Indicates an adhesive
bond failure between
similar or dissimilar
materials
• Usually seen with a face
sheet disbonding from
an underlying sandwich
core material
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Heat Damage
This type of damage is possible near sources of high
temperature (e.g., engines, air-conditioning units, or other
systems).
There are usually visual indications of heat damage caused by
exhaust or charring of the part surface, but it may be difficult to
determine the extent of heat damage.

A local fracture with separation of surface plies. Its effect on the

mechanical performance depends on the thickness of the part.

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Dent in Sandwich Structure

Dents are typically caused by an impact event. The dent is
usually an indication of underlying damage.
Damage can consist of one or more of the following:
sandwich core damage, facesheet, delaminations, matrix
cracks, fiber breakage, and debonds between facesheets
and core.

Dents in thin facesheets of sandwich core often only involve

core damage. Dents in solid laminate areas fastened to a
substructure (e.g., edge-band areas of sandwich panels) can
have associated damage to the substructure.

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Puncture Damage
A puncture is defined as an impact damage that causes a
penetration of the facesheet or laminate.
A puncture is more likely to occur than a dent if the impact
energy is higher and the impactor is of small diameter. Also,
thin facesheets of sandwich structure are puncture-susceptible.
The edge of the puncture may be relatively clean, or may be
ragged, depending on the type and energy of the impact event.

There may be associated delaminations, matrix damage, and

fiber breakage outside of the puncture edges.

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Bolt Hole Damage

Composite damage can occur due to improper hole drilling and
poor fastener installation.
Fastener hole elongation damage can occur due to repeated
load cycling in service.
Damage to fastener holes can also happen during
maintenance while removing or replacing screws or quick-
release fasteners.
When this type of damage is localized to one or two holes, it
will have limited effect in multifastener joints.

The elongation of the hole causing

laminate splitting or damage to the
upper plies.

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Lightning Strike Damage

This type of damage is usually constrained to surface layers of
the skin panel. Degradation to the lightning protection system
could pose potential for greater damage threats.
Rare, high-energy lightning strikes may also cause considerable
damage. Lightning damage to the composite is usually easily
detected visually.

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Erosion Damage
Erosion can occur at the edge of a
laminate panel or at a sandwich
edge band as a result of airflow over
the structure or the impingement of
debris, rain, etc.
Erosion can expose surface fibers to
reduce local strength and lead to
moisture ingression.
In most cases, erosion is not a
safety threat because damage is
found before becoming serious.

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Fluid Ingression Damage

This type of damage usually requires another damage to be
present, allowing a leak path into the sandwich core. Some
design details (e.g., porous fabric weave styles used for
facesheets, square-edge sandwich close-outs) may also allow
fluids to enter the core through leaks.
Once the fluid gets into the
sandwich part, it can degrade
the core or its bond with the
facesheets.
Damage growth can be caused
by freeze-thaw cycles, a
pressure differential through the
facesheet and fluid degradation
of the bond.
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Example of Damages

Nose cowl impact damage Rotor fracture

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Classification of Damage
• Allowable Damage
• Repairable Damage
• Non- Repairable Damage
Category of Repair
• Category A repair is a permanent repair for which normal
planned inspections are sufficient, and no other actions are
necessary
• Category B repair is a permanent repair for which
supplemental inspections are necessary at specified
thresholds and repeat intervals
• Category C repair is a time-limited repair for which
supplemental inspections are necessary, followed by a
replaced part or reworked repair within a specified time limit
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Composite Damage and Repair Procedures

Critical steps

1) Damage Disposition
Regardless of where damage is discovered, the damage must
be assessed and the extent of the damage mapped, an
instrumented NDI procedure should be used.

2) Approved Repair Documentation

After any damage is discovered and mapped, the first step in

any damage/repair disposition is to consult the approved
repair documentation (such as the SRM) for ADLs and repair
designs.

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Composite Damage and Repair Procedures

Critical steps
3) A Quality Control Plan for a Bonded Repair
To verify that all the repair process steps were performed
correctly, a QC plan is recommended so a technician or inspector
can ensure that the approved repair instructions were followed.
The approved repair documentation (e.g., SRM) step-by-step
instructions are often used for quality checks, or the technician
provides his own checklist, which another technician or inspector
checks off.
The ideal situation is for a second person to perform the
inspection activities, be responsible for verifying the correctness
of the process step, and signify on the work instructions that he
has verified the process step.

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Composite Damage and Repair Procedures

The critical steps necessary for inspecting a completed
bonded repair are as follows:
The post repair inspection and interpretation of inspection
results should be performed in accordance with the approved
repair documentation and NDI manuals using approved
inspection standards.
After the hot-bonding equipment, vacuum bag, breather plies,
and parting films are removed, the cured repair is visually
inspected for anomalies. A flashlight or intensive light source
should be used to aid the visual inspection.
The inspector will look for any discolored areas or indications,
such as bubbles or bulges, that may indicate an anomaly within
the repair patch or the repair bondline.

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Composite Damage and Repair Procedures

Print out the cure parameters, check for the correct

temperature and vacuum profiles.

Vacuum or temperature profiles outside the limits for a correct

cure cycle are indicators of a bad repair, and the repair may
have to be removed and replaced with a correctly processed
repair.

If the repaired component is a flight control panel, the mass

balance of the part must be checked against operational
balance limits. If the repaired area is adjacent to other
structure or movable parts, clearances should be checked.

EU4-M3-23
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Composite Damage and Repair Procedures

If the repair is found satisfactory, any required protective

coatings are to be restored to the repaired area (e.g.,
primer, enamel paint, and any conductive coating such as
aluminum flame spray or aluminum mesh installed for
lightning protection, or an isolation coating such as a glass
fabric ply).

The restored protection system should be checked for the

correct (e.g., initial) conductivity.

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Advances in Composite Repair Analysis and Design

Development of techniques for improving repairs and the

assessment of the repair effectiveness is ongoing.

The CACRC (Commercial Aircraft Composites Repair

Committee) is a joint project of manufacturers, airlines, repair
stations, and regulators. The CACRC, a committee under the
auspices of the SAE, is actively developing standard
composite repair practices and training that will be available
to the industry, which can be regarded as standard practice.

Recognizing the importance of composite maintenance and

repair, since 1992 the FAA has been actively involved in
facilitating and funding research that is directly related to
the primary causes of aircraft damage.

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Thank You

Next topic

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