Development of a Technology Guidance Document for Composite Repair to Metallic Structure

There is an increasing use of bonded composite doublers, both within the Department of Defense and the commercial aircraft repair community, for the repair or reinforcement of metallic aircraft structure. Due to the increased utilization of this technology by the aircraft repair community, the United States Air Force, through the Air Force Materiel Command, has recognized the need for a comprehensive multi-disciplinary guidance document that details the various aspects of composite repair to metallic structure that are required for the successful widespread application of this technology to both aging and current production aircraft. This guidance document, hereafter referred to as the “Handbook”, is to be developed by the Defense and Space Group of The Boeing Company under a multi-program contractual effort sponsored by Wright Patterson AFB Materials Directorate with Mr. James Mazza serving as the Project Manager. The motivation for this paper is to outline the purpose of the overall effort, the intended contents of the Handbook, and the results of the first phase of this effort, the development of a thematic outline that will be used to form the basis of the Handbook. Included in this paper are the conclusions from user/potential user site visits including the most current applications of this technology, and information on the results from a multidisciplinary survey that was distributed to recipients world wide. In addition, any additional efforts in the Handbook development up to the March 1996 will be included.