Investigating Crack Growth Behavior in Alu-Bond Composite Sheets and Repairing with Composite Patch Connections

Subject Areas :

Hamid Mozafari ^{1 *} , Mojtaba Moravej ²

1 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-01-12 Accepted : 2025-02-27 Published : 2025-02-27

Keywords: Composite Sheet, Crack Repair, Composite Patch Connection, Genetic Algorithm (GA), Colonial Competitive Algorithm (CCA),

Abstract :

This study investigates using composite patch connections to repair cracked composite sheets under tensile stress. Finite element analysis was employed to model and analyze the behavior of the cracked composite sheet in three scenarios: without a patch, with a one-sided patch, and with a two-sided (symmetric) patch. The primary objective was to examine the influence of the composite patch material on the stress distribution, crack growth strain, and overall performance of the repaired sheet. An optimization approach was also developed to design the multilayer composite patch connection with the lowest weight and cost while withstanding the highest possible load. Two optimization algorithms, the Genetic Algorithm and the Colonial Competitive Algorithm, were implemented and compared in this regard. The results demonstrate that using a symmetric, two-sided composite patch connection effectively reduces crack growth and enhances the strength of the repaired sheet. Furthermore, the optimization analysis revealed that the Colonial Competitive Algorithm provided superior performance to the Genetic Algorithm in identifying the optimal design parameters for the composite patch connection. This study contributes to understanding crack behavior in composite sheets and developing cost-effective, weight-efficient repair solutions using composite patch connections. The findings can inform the design and implementation of composite repair techniques in various engineering applications.

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