The static mechanical performance of repaired composite sandwich beams: Part I - Experimental characterisation

The behaviour of undamaged and repaired CFRP sandwich beams loaded in four-point bending is described. Three repair configurations (one overlap and two scarf) were tested in tension and compression, and two repair systems (based upon either a relatively high- and or low-temperature cure) were employed. It was found that the repair schemes tested recovered a very high fraction of the undamaged strength, although the ranking order of the configurations depended on the loading mode (i.e., tension or compression). The choice of the repair system did not have a major effect on the strength of the repaired CFRP beams.