ANALYSIS OF THE AIRFRAME REPAIR NODE

Polymer composite materials can be used both for the production of semi-monocoque structures and for the repair of aircraft airframes. Of all the elements of the semi-monocoque structure, the airframe skin is most often damaged during operation. The fragments of the skin between the frame elements of the semi-monocoque structure are considered as a thin-walled plate. The paper presents an analysis of the repair node of a metal plate subjected to uniform shear. The model of the repaired plate made in the Ansys Workbench environment was used for the analysis. The boundary conditions were defined by means of an articulated frame using the possibilities of the computing environment in the scope of, defining elements among others. The model was initially verified experimentally, assuming that it can be used to carry out a comparative analysis of two methods of repairing a damaged plate, using CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) and GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) materials. Analyzing the obtained results, it was found that the repair does not restore the original strength of the damaged structure, however, it reduces the stress of the plate material around the opening by 10%.