Continuous Maintenance of Damaged Aircraft Wings: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Continuous maintenance is necessary for ensuring structural integrity of an aircraft. Damage to structural components in aircraft could be caused by corrosion, stresses, fracture and erosion. Inspection performed to locate these damages includes shape of repair stripes to use in order to fill the damage; the type, size, and number of rivets needed; and the strength, thickness, and the kind of material required. Traditional repair is done by installing splice members using bolts or rivets on the damaged area. These spliced members are usually one gauge heavier or made of the same material at the least. This will ensure that the part will get back to its original structural capacity. Hence, the selection of material and adhesive for the sections becomes important. Parameters like shape and size of the stripe, number of plies, their stacking sequence, selection of adhesive material (epoxy, BMI, etc.) and its thickness are key to this process. This article describes the recent development in aircraft wing maintainance using composite stripes.