A study on mechanical properties after bonded repair of sandwich composite materials

In this paper, an experimental study was conducted to determine the efficiency of repair methods for sandwich composites used as hull materials in leisure ships. The method was applied to external, scarf, and step patch repairs using an epoxy bond. The load was described in terms of the hogging and sagging moments applied to the hull by waves. Static and fatigue tests were performed to derive the recovery rate of repaired specimens. The experimental results indicated that the recovery rate of specimens with the scarf patch was the highest at 91.80% when the hogging moment was applied. However, the difference in the recovery rate between hogging and sagging moments was the lowest for specimens with the step patch, and the recovery rate was high at 89.96% and 85.15%, respectively.