Boeing Designated Expert in composite repair who leads the Advanced Composite Repair Lab. “We needed an adhesive that could easily be mixed and applied in hot or cold environments. It had to cure very quickly while still allowing time to apply the patch before hardening.” In one of the most memorable tests, Spalding volunteered to apply various adhesives while standing in a walk-in freezer inside the division’s Seattle lab. The eventual quick repair patch solution also was attached to a customer airline’s in-service 767 to test its durability in service. In 2007, the quick composite repair process was qualified as a temporary fix on the 787’s primary composite structures. But the Commercial Aviation Services and Boeing Research & Technology team still had to create an easy-to-use kit that would allow airlines to apply the repair patch. Blanchard led a team with representatives from several Commercial Airplanes departments to assemble the quick repair kit, which contains everything needed for the job. Customer airlines then tested the kits before they were deemed ready for use. Since last year, airlines have been able to order the quick composite repair kit or any single item needed to replenish the kit. Blanchard said 10 U.S. patents are pending for the kit, while one international patent has been granted. For its work, the 787 Structures Services Engineering team earned a 2011 Commercial Aviation Services Service Excellence award. But the engineers who worked on the quick composite repair kit are not finished. They continue to work on other variations of the patch repair, Blanchard said. Meanwhile, customer airlines have purchased at least 75 of the quick composite repair kits for smaller problems, Akdeniz said. Since the 787’s entry into service, the composite repair kit has been used a number of times by airlines to quickly repair damage— and help improve dispatch reliability. Repairs incidents have included fixing dents suffered when airport vehicles hit the airplane to fuselage skin blemishes resulting from severe lightning strikes. Because of its convenience and relatively low cost compared to taking an airplane out of service, Akdeniz said, airlines are embracing it. n eric.c.fetters-walp@boeing.com PHOTOS: (Opposite page, top) Aydin Akdeniz, left, a Technical Fellow in Commercial Aviation Services’ 787 Structures Services Engineering group, inspects a composite beam used to test the quick composite repair process. In the background, engineers Paul Skinnell, center, and Steve Blanchard inspect repair patches. (Opposite page, bottom left) Structural repair technician Mary Vargas carefully demonstrates how to place the quick composite repair patch (bottom right) onto a test panel after applying adhesive. (This page) Several airlines already have used quick composite repair kits from Boeing to fix minor damage to their composite-material 787-8 jetliners. Frontiers February 2014 21
Frontiers February 2014 Issue
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