Tensile behavior of composite patched cracked metallic structures

Composite patches of epoxy‐based unidirectional carbon and woven glass prepregs were adhesively bonded on uncracked and center cracked standard specimens of aluminum sheet, and patched specimens were evaluated by tensile testing. The effect of various surface treatments, patch length, and number of plies on the tensile strength was studied. Surface preparation of the specimens by sandblasting had a pronounced effect on strength improvement compared to other physical or chemical treatments. The strength of the cracked specimens increased up to 79% for unidirectional carbon patched specimens and 75% for woven glass patched specimens. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68: 2063–2068, 1998