The Effects of Plastic Media Blasting on F/A-18 Carbon/Epoxy Honeycomb Sandwich Structure

Plastic media blasting (PMB) has been approved for paint removal on Naval aircraft on metallic structures with thicknesses of 0.016 inch and greater and monolithic carbon/epoxy laminates with thicknesses of 0.073 inch and greater. This report documents the test effort to qualify PMB as a paint removal process for thin laminate carbon/epoxy honeycomb sandwich structures.

Type V, acrylic media was used for blasting. Test panels were subjected to 10 and 20 repetitive blast cycles. Panels were not painted in between blast cycles representing a worst-case blast condition. Optical microscopy was performed on panels subjected to both 10 and 20 cycles. Mechanical property testing (long beam flexure and flatwise tension) was performed on control specimens and specimens subjected to both 10 and 20 blast cycles.