Composite structure repair methods incorporating a lattice core material

Abstract

A method for repairing a composite structure. A damaged portion of a first facesheet of the structure is removed, forming a hole in the first facesheet. A damaged portion of the underlying core is removed to form a cavity in the sandwich. If the second facesheet is damaged, the damaged section is removed, and covered and sealed with a facesheet repair section. If the core material is an open-cell material, a dam is formed around the perimeter of the cavity, to act as a barrier between the cavity and the core material. The cavity is at least partially filled with a photomonomer resin, which then is illuminated through a mask with collimated light to form a truss structure in the cavity. Residual photomonomer resin is removed, and a facesheet repair section is bonded over the hole in the first facesheet.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.