Current composite repair processes for aircraft are labor intensive, require specialized training, and utilize expensive materials with limited shelf life. Laminate repair patches must be manually assembled and partially or fully cured off part, prior to bonding to the damaged structures. Recent technological advances have enabled the use of automated Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques to fabricate high-strength composite materials. The Navy is interested in exploiting these technologies for developing a portable, automated system that consistently and efficiently produces high-quality repair of composite aircraft structures. To meet the Navys need, Luna will leverage extensive experience in streamlining current Navy composite repair processes with the additive fabrication experts at Virginia Techs Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) laboratory. Incorporation of Lunas repair technology into additive fabrication equipment will enable automated high fiber volume and low void content repairs that meet or exceed component strength and durability requirements.
Benefit: Lunas advanced automated composite technology will be developed as a commercial additive fabrication system capable of producing high-quality, continuous fiber composite repairs, as well as standalone components. It will enable use of both wet-resin and pre-impregnated fiber tow (prepreg tow) materials, encompassing a broad range of applications. Lunas automated system will be transitioned to virtually all Navy aircraft platforms as well as other DoD, government, and commercial applications. An automated, additive fabrication and repair system for continuous composite materials will be beneficial to all industries which utilize composite materials.
Keywords: repair, repair, additive manufacturing, Automated Fiber Placement, Composites
