Boeing

Lightweight Composite Repair System with Expandables

Repairing structural composite parts often requires autoclaves or vacuum bagging to provide heat and compaction during curing, which makes small, localized repairs on large previously cured parts costly and disruptive. This project advanced a localized positive-pressure consolidation system intended to support composite repair without airtight sealing or a full autoclave return. Building on an earlier proof-of-concept, the project focused on a lightweight setup that could conform to curved aircraft-like surfaces using a flexible cover, anchoring features, pressure sensing, and a reaction support plate to resist the applied load. The system was intended to generate and control compaction pressure from expandable media at predetermined pressure and temperature conditions for repair scenarios such as co-bonding a metal and composite doubler. Initial coupon-level validation was pursued to assess the approach, with a stretch goal of using the system to fabricate composite parts for comparison with autoclave-cured and Double Vacuum Debulk methods.