A request of material change when performing repairs on composite parts of SAABs JAS 39 Gripen has lead to the initiation of this project. The aim is to create a quicker and more robust repair method. The requested method of repair is to use a direct-cured repair patch made of CFRP fabric instead of CFRP tape and to mount the patch with a scarf joint, see Figure 1.1. The fabric patch should then provide a robust quasi-isotropic repair, where the operator not is dependent of complete design data such as ply-directions etc. Today tape repairs are made on tape laminate and fabric repairs made on fabric laminate. The new method is to repair tape laminate with a fabric patch. This project will evaluate the possibility of implementing this method. The work started with a literature study to find out how repairs in composite parts of the airframe are being performed today. SAABs in-house analytical tools were then used to try to predict the results and examine some of the details in the questions at issue. Finite element models were then constructed to simulate a previous physical test program conducted to validate a repair method using a step joint and a direct-cured repair patch. If the FE models could show similar results as the physical tests the results from the FE models then can be assumed to be credible. The results of this project indicate that the change from fabric to tape in the repair patch can be done without disturbing the load path of a quasi isotropic composite laminate. Fabric repairs in orthotropic composite plates results in a knock-down of about 40%. The use of a scarf joint instead of a step joint should also work well as the repair patches show similar strains in the centre of the patches. The difference between step joint and scarf joint is the strain near the edge of the patch. It increases with scarf joint and it may lead to an earlier fibre failure in the repair patch. Results from the analysis of the bonded joint indicate that a scarf joint yields in a lower and more evenly distributed shear stress than the step joint. This indicates that the bonded joint in the step joint will reach failure earlier then the scarf joint.

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is widely used in the industrial world due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. Aerospace manufacturers incorporate CFRP into the main structure of their flight vehicles. The extensive use of CFRP sparks the interest in efficient methods for manufacturing and repair. One of the most used repair methods is the bonded joint method, which includes different types of joints, e.g. scarf joint, step joint and single-lap joint. Scarf joint is generally selected for repair method due to its derived outcome. To improve strength of the bonded joint, the mating adherend surfaces are usually treated before being bonded. This treatment aims to enhance the mechanical interlocking and absorption properties between adhesive and adherend. Manual or electrical sanding is a standard method currently used in the industry. Recently, laser treatment is of high interest due to its potential for an automated process and consistent results. Laser treatment is usually preformed uniformly across the CFRP, regardless of the stacking sequence. This process may introduce local enhancement in some ply orientations, but also damage in other plies. This work investigates the effect of local (ply-specific) treatment on the scarf joint strength of CFRP. Effects of laser fluence (energy density) on treated ply were evaluated using surface characterization methods, viz. optical microscopy, profilometry and sessile drop technique. Finally, tensile test was performed on CFRP scarf joint. Results show that ply-specific laser treatment improves the tensile strength of CFRP scarf joint. The treatment offers localized enhancement to the surface properties and bonding strength, which results in overall tensile strength improvement.

Le collage structural se présente comme une alternative intéressante aux méthodes classiques d'assemblages par ajout d’éléments mécaniques pour alléger les structures aéronautiques. Cependant, l'utilisation de cette méthode soulève de nombreuses questions en termes de conception, caractérisation ou modélisation. Ce travail, à fort caractère expérimental, visent deux grands objectifs : (i) sélectionner les moyens d'instrumentation les plus adaptés pour la caractérisation du comportement jusqu'à rupture des assemblages collés et (ii) prédire le comportement des assemblages collés à partir d'une caractérisation et d'une modélisation complète sous chargements quasi-statiques bi-axiaux, en utilisant un type d’essai simple et industrialisable. Dans un premier temps, pour atteindre ces objectifs, un nouvel essai appelé Scarf modifié a été proposé, afin de caractériser le comportement mécanique du joint de colle, en minimisant les effets de bord par la présence de becs. La deuxième partie de la thèse porte sur le développement d'une stratégie de caractérisation simplifiée du comportement de joint de colle, sous certaines hypothèses (états de contraintes/déformations, continuité du champ de contraintes). Cette stratégie a permis d'obtenir le comportement intrinsèque de l’adhésif sous la forme de courbes contraintes/déformations. La dernière partie abordée dans ces travaux, s'intéresse quant à elle à l'identification et la sélection des moyens de métrologie les plus appropriés, pour accompagner la caractérisation expérimentale. / Today, structural bonding presents an interesting alternative to conventional methods of assembly, in order to reduce the weight within aeronautical structures. However, the use of this method raises many questions in terms of design, characterization or modeling. This work presents a robust experimental work, aiming two main objectives: (i) select the most suitable instrumentation for the characterization of the behavior of bonded joints up to failure and (ii) predict the behavior of bonded joints from complete characterization and modeling under quasi-static bi-axial loading, using a simple test, directly integrated to industry. In a first stage, to achieve this goal, modified Scarf test has been proposed to characterize the mechanical behavior of adhesive joints. This type of specimen allows applying multiaxial loadings without having high-stress concentrations near the edges. The second part of the thesis deals with the development of a strategy for simplifying the characterization of a bonded joint using some hypotheses (stress/strain states). This strategy allows obtaining the intrinsic behavior of the adhesive in the form of the stress/strain curves. The last part of this work deals with the identification and selection of the most appropriate instrumentation systems in the experimental characterization.

Kan snedskarvning vara ett ekonomiskt lämpligt komplement till fingerskarvning? Kvistfritt listmaterial av furu är mycket eftertraktat inom träindustrin där fingerskarvning numera är den mest förekommande metoden. Det är viktigt att listmaterial har en hanteringsstyrka god nog för att hålla ihop vid montering eftersom konstruktionsstyrkan inte är den begränsande faktorn. Denna studie innehåller en jämförelse i draghållfasthet för lister gjorda med fingerskarv, MDF och snedskarv där det lägsta vinkelförhållandet som uppfyller kraven på skarven är sökt från 1:1 till 1:5. Tidigare tester framhåller förhållandet 1:8 när det är till för konstruktionsändamål, denna studie hävdar att 1:3 är tillräckligt för lister. / Could scarf jointing be an economical suitable complement to finger jointing? Knot-free lath material of pine wood is highly requested in the timber industry where finger jointing nowadays is a commonly used method. It is important that the lath material has a handling strength good enough to hold the assembly since structural strength is not the limited factor. This study contains a comparison of tensile strength in laths made of finger joints, MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) and scarf joints where the lowest ratio of angular relationship that meets the demands of the scarf is searched from 1:1 to 1:5. Previous testing only holds a ratio of 1:8 for construction purposes whereas this study claims a result of 1:3 for laths.