Crack patching: experimental studies, practical applications

Adhesively bonded patches of advanced fibre composites, such as boron/epoxy, can provide highly efficient and cost-effective repairs for cracked metallic aircraft components. This approach, known in Australia as crack-patching, pioneered by Aeronautical Research Laboratories since about 1972, has been successfully used to repair Royal Australian Air Force aircraft, including Hercules, Mirage and F111, suffering from cracking due to fatigue or to stress-corrosion.