Numerical analysis of the Influence of the presence of disbond region in adhesive layer on the stress intensity factors (SIF) and crack opening displacement (COD) in plates repaired with a composite patch

The determination of the stress intensity factor at the crack tip is one of the most widely used methods to predict the fatigue life of aircraft structures. This prediction is more complicated for repaired cracks with bonded composite patch. This study is used to compute the stress intensity factor (SIF) and crack opening displacement (COD) for cracks repaired with single and double-sided composite patches. The effect of the presence of disbond region in adhesive at the crack was taken into consideration. The results show that there is a considerable reduction in the asymptotic value of the stress-intensity factors and the crack opening displacement at the crack tip. The use of a double-sided patch suppresses the bending effect due to the eccentricity of the patch on one side only.