Onsite Structural Restoration Methods for Aircraft Components (16-RD-887)

During the service life of an aircraft component it may get damaged due to a variety of events such as particle impact, wear, corrosion and thermal cycling induced fatigue. Besides service induced damage, the components may also get damaged during maintenance, and/or during component installation/removal/handling/inspection. Current repair process involves blending away the damages until the surface is smooth. However, this process has the drawback of leaving the repaired component with a lower thickness at the repair location which in turn reduces the ability for future repair as well as effect close tolerance component operation applications. In the Phase I SBIR program, UES, Inc. in collaboration with The Pennsylvania State University proposes to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative additive process to repair and restore damaged Ti-6Al-4V aircraft components. The proposed technique will also have the capability for onsite component repair and restoration.