Thickness effects on a cracked aluminum plate with composite patch repair

Post-repair fatigue crack growth was investigated in 3.175, 4.826, and 6.35 mm thick aluminum panels (508 mm long, 153 mm wide), asymmetrically repaired with boron/epoxy composite patches bonded to the plates with FM73 sheet adhesive. Patches were uniaxial with patch to panel stiffness ratios ranging from 0.46 to 1.3. Experimental fatigue tests were carried out at 120 MPa, R = 0.1, and 10 Hz (sinusoidal) to measure patched and unpatched face crack lengths, center crack opening displacements, and selected strains. Crack growth data was acquired using optical, eddy current, and post-test analysis methods. Crack growth rates were calculated using the incremental polynomial method. Test results showed increased plate thickness caused increased fatigue crack growth rates in both unrepaired and repaired panels. Thermally-induced bending due to patch bonding affects crack growth rates. Increased stiffness ratios increased life-spans and reduced crack growth anomalies such as retardation. Disbond growth is more dependent on crack size than on patch configuration and tends to accelerate when the crack grows beyond a critical length or where the patch changes thickness.; A three-layer Mindlin plate finite element model was used as a two-dimensional analytical technique to predict patched and unpatched face reaction loads and displacements. This method uses a third plate layer to model the adhesive layer as a continuum. Constraint equations are used to enforce compatibility conditions along the plate-adhesive and adhesive patch interfaces. The calculated loads and displacements, in conjunction with the modified crack closure method, were used to compute stress intensity factors for the crack tips. Crack growth rates were calculated using experimentally determined material constants and the fatigue crack growth relationship (Paris Law) of the unpatched plate. Comparisons of the experimental to analytical curvatures of repaired panels showed excellent agreement for crack lengths up to 60-80 mm long. Enhancements to the predictions are presented to provide accurate life-span predictions. Crack growth rate and life-span predictions are consistent with their experimental counterparts at the unpatched face to within two life-spans. The present analysis is, thus, an effective tool to investigate the behavior of fatigue crack growth in thick and thin aluminum panels repaired with composite patches.