Fast repair of laminated beams using UV curing composites

In this study, laminated beam samples were predamaged by low velocity impact. The damaged samples were repaired using either ambient environment curing epoxy, heat activated curing prepreg, or ultraviolet (UV) curing resin. Environmental conditioning using UV radiation and a seawater bath was conducted to investigate the durability of the repaired samples. A uniaxial tension test was conducted on a total of 45 effective samples to evaluate the strength recovered by the repair materials and the strength lost by environmental conditioning. A finite element analysis was conducted to understand the failure modes of the repaired samples. The test results show that fiber reinforced UV curing resin is a fast, strong, durable, and cost effective method to repair low velocity impact damaged composite laminates.