Finite element analyses of bonded composite patch

Structural repairs are often used to restore the original strength of structures that present failure associated with structural integrity or the modification of any initial capacity. The main applications in engineering are: aeronautical structures, the rehabilitation of bridges and pipelines in the oil and gas industry. This work present an analysis of the mechanical behavior of structural repairs manufactured in isotropic or composites material. Two techniques for join the repairs are considered: riveting for metallic repairs and bonding for metallic and composite repairs. The considered failure criteria are: the criteria of distortion energy of von Mises and the criteria of fracture mechanics. The main objective is the development of methods for numerical prediction of the mechanical behavior of structural reinforcements considering the failures in the original structure, the repair and the join technique. The proposed applications involve numerical analysis of plates considering isotropic and composite materials. The numerical technique used is the finite elements method, applied to plane stress and bending plates cases. Criteria for relative performance are proposed to assist in the analysis and optimization of cracked structures, repaired by the bonding of composite patchs. For the modeling of the adhesive, a concentrated parameters formulation is used, and the normal and shear stress are evaluated in the adhesive layer. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional examples have been implemented to validate the proposed methodology. Finally, conclusions are presented and suggestions for future research are proposed (AU)