Composite Repair Engineering Case Studies for U.S. Army Aerostructures

The U.S. Army operates and maintains several aircraft MDS to meet the warfighter’s multidomain mission. Aircraft fielded by the U.S. Army originate from multiple equipment manufacturers. These aircraft include rotary-wing configurations such as the AH-64D/E Apache, CH-47F Chinook, and H-60A/L/V/M Blackhawk aircraft which significantly vary in mission parameters and flight profiles. These aircraft contain structures made from a majority aluminum, steel, and titanium alloys which have dominated aircraft designs for much of the history of powered flight. However, the use of advanced composite material systems such as fiberglass, carbon, and aramid fiber reinforcement with high performance epoxy resins has steadily increased to optimize structural designs and improve mission capability.