Composite aircraft structures are found in modern aircraft from air transport to general aviation aircraft designs. Maintenance
repair technology varies for each original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aircraft type. Whereas previous aircraft
structural repairs used similar construction, aluminum and rivets, composite aircraft manufacturers certify each aircraft with
a mixture of different fiber reinforcements and resin matrix systems. This study is an examination of two different composite
repair methods commonly used within the composite aviation industry and how they compare in test using different
nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. The results obtained from NDE methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness
of each method for flaw detection and sizing.
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