Numerical prediction on the tensile residual strength of repaired CFRP under different geometric changes

This work presents a two-dimensional numerical analysis to assess the influence of several geometric changes on the tensile residual strength of repaired CFRP composite plates. The model was validated by comparison with previously published experimental results. Single- and double-lap repair techniques were evaluated. The geometric changes include chamfering the patch outer face, thickening the adhesive near the overlap outer edge, filling the plates gap with adhesive (plug filling), using fillets of different shapes and dimensions at the patch ends, chamfering the outer and inner plate edges, and combinations of these changes. This work shows that, with the correct joint configuration, the residual strength can be increased by 27% for single-lap joints and 12% for double-lap joints. a 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.