New progress in damage evaluation and repair of fiber reinforced composites

As advanced composite materials are very attractive for aerospace and aircraft structural parts, the availability of efficient and cost effective technologies to repair or extend the life is becoming critical requirement where part replacement is difficult and expensive. Damage, which is internal, is very common in composite materials. Repair of this damage is important in order that damage do not lead to catastrophic failure. A brief overview of damage evaluation and repair techniques are presented. This paper reviews several recent composite repair technologies to summarize where the key scientific gaps remain and to suggest research that should be undertaken to further enhance the usefulness of the repair technology. The increasing development of the self-healing materials opens new opportunities for improved repair techniques as an alternative to the conventional repair methods like bonded or riveted patches. This paper also focuses on various self-healing technologies currently being developed for advanced composite materials. Finally, the challenges and future research opportunities in composite repair technologies are highlighted.