Laser Removal of Composite Coatings and Damaged Areas on Aircraft

This proposal is for the development of an innovative compact and mobile laser system to safely remove coatings from composite aircraft structures. The proposed laser based system will also be capable of preparing damaged composite surface for structural bonding. The use of lasers as a surface preparation tool for structural repair is a new, but very promising application for pulsed laser systems. The proposed laser system will be a laser Class 1 system based on proven off-the-shelf technology with very compact dimensions. This allows for small area repairs (up to 500 x 500mm) directly on deployed aircraft, such as the V-22. The laser system will have multiple control features such as color recognition, shape recognition and fume extraction. The project will be approached jointly with Concurrent Technology Corporation and Patrona Corp.