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Old 28th Aug 2009, 22:39
  #89 (permalink)  
Rigga
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Anglia
Posts: 2,076
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
It's bin a few years but...

The only sure way of finding disbonding or voids within and GRP/CFRP structures is by using Ultrasound Techniques (a La - The Midwife's Pics of your loverly babies in mummy's tummy)

The 2p test (it used to be 10p in my day!) is okay for finding voids or disbonding near to the surface but is not reliable for deeper structures. TAP tests on Blades are looking for disbonding at the surface or the skin joint to the Spar - but not in the Spar itself.

X-Rays are also not particularly accurate and are open to "interpretation" issues.

Voids are prone to 'speading' under stress so all small knocks should be registered ASAP and assessed 'as soon as practicable' (I love that phrase!) and mapped for future periodic monitoring.

Also, to repair CFRP is a really specialist job - you cant use a normal drill, for instance, as it won't cut the Carbon Fibres without dragging them through the resin, and any repair scheme would need to be drawn up (though not for this particular Tail Boom!) by more specialists, and conducted by yet more specialists. (I remember a RAF Harrier GR7 once waited 18 months for an intake "Bird-Strike" Plate repair scheme that took two weeks to complete)

Although it is a very useful material - I personally don't like CFRP for structural uses!
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