TY - GEN

T1 - Laser-based repair of carbon fiber reinforced polymers with polyamide 6 matrix material

AU - Hirt, S.

AU - Wippo, V.

AU - Geiger, M.

AU - Jaeschke, P.

AU - Kaierle, S.

AU - Overmeyer, L.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI) for funding these investigations within the project HyPatchRepair (20E1721B) of the German federal aeronautical research program. Funding Information: The authors would like to thank TRUMPF Laser GmbH for providing the thindisc laser source.

PY - 2022/3/4

Y1 - 2022/3/4

N2 - In the aviation industry, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used as a standard material. Due to the high strength-to-weight ratio, weight can be saved and the fuel consumption, for example of airplanes or cars, can be reduced. More and more thermoplastics are used as matrix materials, because they enable new production and repair processes. In order to reduce repair costs, an automated, reliable and fast process is needed. For the repair of CFRP with polyamide 6 (PA6) matrix material, a laser-based ablation process for the removal of the damaged material and a laser welding process for the refill of the scarf with a patch are being developed. The ablation of the scarf and the cutting of the patch are conducted with a high power nanosecond pulsed laser, which has a maximum power of PL = 1500 W and emits at a wavelength of= 1030 nm. For the joining process, an automatically controlled heat conduction welding process is developed. Therefore, a diode laser with a maximum average power of PL = 300 W and a wavelength of= 940 nm is utilized. For the analysis of the ablation and cutting process, samples were analyzed in order to determine the heat affected zone. For the evaluation of the welding process, overlap samples were welded and tested to determine the weld seam strength. In addition, cross sections were prepared and analyzed for defects. Finally, the results were correlated in order to determine a high process quality.

AB - In the aviation industry, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used as a standard material. Due to the high strength-to-weight ratio, weight can be saved and the fuel consumption, for example of airplanes or cars, can be reduced. More and more thermoplastics are used as matrix materials, because they enable new production and repair processes. In order to reduce repair costs, an automated, reliable and fast process is needed. For the repair of CFRP with polyamide 6 (PA6) matrix material, a laser-based ablation process for the removal of the damaged material and a laser welding process for the refill of the scarf with a patch are being developed. The ablation of the scarf and the cutting of the patch are conducted with a high power nanosecond pulsed laser, which has a maximum power of PL = 1500 W and emits at a wavelength of= 1030 nm. For the joining process, an automatically controlled heat conduction welding process is developed. Therefore, a diode laser with a maximum average power of PL = 300 W and a wavelength of= 940 nm is utilized. For the analysis of the ablation and cutting process, samples were analyzed in order to determine the heat affected zone. For the evaluation of the welding process, overlap samples were welded and tested to determine the weld seam strength. In addition, cross sections were prepared and analyzed for defects. Finally, the results were correlated in order to determine a high process quality.

KW - CFRP

KW - heat conduction welding

KW - laser welding

KW - PA6

KW - repair

KW - thermoplastic

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131226084&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1117/12.2605977

DO - 10.1117/12.2605977

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85131226084

T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

BT - High-Power Laser Materials Processing: Applications, Diagnostics, and Systems XI

PB - SPIE

T2 - High-Power Laser Materials Processing

Y2 - 20 February 2022 through 24 February 2022

ER -