Monday  |  Salon 10  |  04:10 PM–04:30 PM

#15732, Experimental Characterization of Cold Spray Repaired Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

The promising structural properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composites make them widely popular in the energy, automotive, defense, and aerospace industries. One of the challenges associated with the use of composites in the above applications is their maintenance and repair. This work investigates the recovery of structural properties in damaged fiber composites by polymer cold spray additive manufacturing. Controlled damage in the form of blind drilled holes is applied to samples of woven glass fiber-reinforced composites. The damaged section of each sample is then filled in and repaired by cold spraying thermoplastic and thermoset polymeric powders. The quality of the repaired composite panels and the degree of property recovery are examined through parametric studies, supplemented by multiscale visual and experimental evaluations. Quasi-static three-point bending tests are used as the primary method for mechanical tests performed on original (damage-free), damaged, and repaired composite samples. Digital image correlation (DIC) analyses are performed to verify the repair and partial property recovery of the composites. Results obtained herein demonstrate the substantial recovery of the mechanical properties of the cold spray-repaired samples, establishing the feasibility and promise of this novel repair technique for fiber composites.

Ibnaj Anamika Anni   Rowan University
Madison Kaminskyj   Rowan University
Kazi Zahir Uddin   Rowan University
Joseph Stanzione III   Rowan University
Francis Haas   Rowan University
Behrad Koohbor   Rowan University