Aircraft Skin Restoration and Evaluation
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M. Yandouzi, S. Gaydos, D. Guo, R. Ghelichi, and B. Jodoin (Submitted December 5, 2013; in revised form June 6, 2014) The recent development of the cold spray technology has made possible the deposition of low porosity and oxide-free coatings with good adhesion and with almost no change in the microstructure of the coated parts. This focuses on the use of low-pressure cold spray process to repair damaged Al-based aircraft skin, aiming at obtaining dense coatings with strong adhesion to the Al2024-T3 alloy. In order to prove the feasibility of using of the cold spray process as a repair process for aircraft skin, series of characterisation/tests including microstructures, microhardness, adhesion strength, three-point bending, surface finish, fatigue test, and corrosion resistance were performed. The obtained results revealed that the low-pressure cold spray process is a suitable for the repair of aircraft skin.
Keywords
adhesion, aircraft skin, Alclad, cold spray, corrosion resistance, fatigue test, pure Al, restoration
1. Introduction Aluminum alloys have been the material of choice for aircraft structural components since the 1930s (Ref 1). Although polymer matrix composites are being used extensively in high-performance military aircraft and more recently for parts and applications in commercial aircraft, aluminum alloys are the common choice for the fuselage, wing, and supporting structure of commercial airliners and military cargos and transports. Well-known performance characteristics and fabrication costs, as well as established manufacturing methods and facilities are just a few of the reasons for the continued confidence in aluminum alloys. Furthermore, there have been major advances in aluminum aircraft alloys that continue to keep them in a competitive position. Aluminum cladding (Alclad) has long been used as a non-structural coating for high strength aluminum alloys and a protective measure to reduce or prevent corrosion (Ref 2). It can be polished to an attractive and conductive cosmetic finish. In service, aluminum-based components may suffer damages such as erosion, scratch, and crack due to impact with foreign objects/debris, or repeated polishing and thus have to be repaired or replaced. The resulting damaged areas can lead to preferential corrosion sites if the scores penetrate through the protective coating system (the clad layer) down to the base alloy. Corrosion-related maintenance and failures cost the aircraft industry billions of dollars annually (Ref 3). Consequently, there is a need to repair M. Yandouzi, D. Guo, and B. Jodoin, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa K1N 6N5, ON Canada; S. Gaydos, Boeing Research and Technology (BR&T), St. Louis, MO; and R. Ghelichi, Politecnico di Milano, Via G. la Masa 1, 20156 Milan, Italy. Contact e-mail: yandouzi@ uottawa.ca.
Journal of Thermal Spray Technology
areas where cladding has been lost to restore its original finish and corrosion protection ability, without altering or affecting the underlying parent material. Res
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