Metal Bond Repairs: The Impact of Vacuum Level, Adhesive Type, and Repair Size

摘要

The impact of the size of a bond area on bondline integrity in metal to metal and honeycomb bonded panels was evaluated. Three 250 deg F (121 deg C) film adhesives (BMS 5-101) were applied and cured under autoclave cure (0.31 MPa, 45 psig), full vacuum (78 kPa, 23"), and partial vacuum (34 kPa, 10") conditions. Specimens taken from the panels were tested for lap shear or peel and flatwise tensile strength, for the metal to metal and honeycomb panels, respectively. The character and coverage of the adhesives in the bondlines were also evaluated. The bondlines were uniform in morphologies and strengths from the edges to the centers of the 0.37 m~2 (4 ft~2) panels. The performance of the metal to metal panels was not affected by vacuum cure. The honeycomb panels had some performance degradations under vacuum cure conditions.