Corrosion and environmental degradation of bonded composite repair

Purpose – Bonded composite patches are ideal for aircraft structural repair as they offer enhanced specific properties, case‐tailored performance and excellent corrosion resistance. Bonding minimizes induced stress concentrations unlike mechanical fastening, whilst it seals the interface between the substrate and the patch and reduces the risk of fretting fatigue that could occur in the contact zone. The purpose of this paper is to assess the electrochemical corrosion performance and the environmentally induced mechanical degradation of aerospace epoxy adhesives when carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used as an additive to the neat epoxy adhesive.Design/methodology/approach – The galvanic effect between aluminium substrates and either plain or CNT enhanced carbon fibre composites, was measured using a standard galvanic cell. Also, rest potential measurements and cyclic polarizations were carried out for each of the studied systems. The effect of the CNT introduction to a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) o...

[1]  A. Tcharkhtchi,et al.  An Investigation on the Effect of Sonication Time and Dispersing Medium on the Mechanical Properties of MWCNT/Epoxy Nanocomposites , 2011 .

[2]  D. Hoeppner,et al.  The interaction between pitting corrosion, grain boundaries, and constituent particles during corrosion fatigue of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy , 2009 .

[3]  R. P. Grant,et al.  Local Dissolution Phenomena Associated with S Phase ( Al2CuMg ) Particles in Aluminum Alloy 2024‐T3 , 1997 .

[4]  R. Foley.  Localized Corrosion of Aluminum Alloys—A Review , 1983 .

[5]  Alkiviadis S. Paipetis,et al.  Impact and after-impact properties of carbon fibre reinforced composites enhanced with multi-wall carbon nanotubes , 2010 .

[6]  J. Guilemany,et al.  The enhancement of the properties of WC-Co HVOF coatings through the use of nanostructured and microstructured feedstock powders , 2006 .

[7]  John R. Scully,et al.  Inhibition of pitting corrosion on aluminum alloy 2024-T3: Effect of soluble chromate additions vs. chromate conversion coating , 2000 .

[8]  A. Baker,et al.  Joining and repair of aircraft composite structures , 1996 .

[9]  R. Buchheit.  A Compilation of Corrosion Potentials Reported for Intermetallic Phases in Aluminum Alloys , 1995 .

[10]  P. J. Heffernan,et al.  Corrosion-fatigue behaviour of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy subjected to periodic overloads , 2007 .

[11]  A. Karantzalis,et al.  Electrochemical behaviour of cermet coatings with a bond coat on Al7075: Pseudopassivity, localized corrosion and galvanic effect considerations in a saline environment , 2010 .

[12]  F. Bellucci.  Galvanic Corrosion between Nonmetallic Composites and Metals II. Effect of Area Ratio and Environmental Degradation , 1992 .

[13]  K. Friedrich,et al.  Mode I interlaminar fracture of CNF or/and PZT doped CFRPs via acoustic emission monitoring , 2007 .

[14]  N. Barkoula,et al.  Enhanced bonded aircraft repair using nano-modified adhesives , 2012 .

[15]  Alan Baker,et al.  Advances in the Bonded Composite Repair of Metallic Aircraft Structure , 2002 .

[16]  Hamid Saadatmanesh,et al.  Galvanic Corrosion of Carbon and Steel in Aggressive Environments , 2001 .

[17]  R. A. Buchanan,et al.  Fundamentals of Electrochemical Corrosion , 2000 .