Fatigue crack growth of bonded composite repairs in gigacycle regime

Fatigue induced from various aeromechanical sources can reach gigacycle regime due to vibratory stress cycles at high frequencies. Composite repairs offer various advantages over mechanical fastening or riveting, including improved long-term durability behavior and reduced corrosion. In this study, by using ultrasonic frequency cyclic loading, fatigue crack growth tests in gigacycle regime were conducted on notched 7075 and 6061 aluminum alloy substrates (in T6 condition) with and without bonded Boron/epoxy patches. A considerable increase in the fatigue life was observed with more number of patch plies. The effect of patch configuration and thickness on enhancing the fatigue strength by orders of magnitude has been demonstrated.