RADICAL APPROACH TO INDUCTION COIL DESIGN FOR AIRCRAFT REPAIR

AIRCRAFT REPAIR IN A FIELD ENVIRONMENT DEMANDS A FAST ACTING EFFECTIVE PROCESS THAT IS EXTREMELY VERSATILE. INDUCTION HEATING IS WELL SUITED FOR FIELD LEVEL REPAIR IN THAT IT IS A VERY FAST HEATING TECHNIQUE AND IT CAN BE MADE TO OPERATE ON AVAILABLE POWER SOURCES. THE PROBLEM WITH CURRENT INDUCTION HEATING DEVICES IS THEY ARE NOT SUITED FOR USE ON CURVED OR LARGE AREA PATCHES. A RADICAL NEW APPROACH TO INDUCTION COIL DESIGN IS PROPOSED WHICH INVOLVES A FLEXIBLE COIL THAT CAN BE CONTOURED TO FIT CURVED PATCHES OF ANY GEOMETRY. THE NEW COIL TRANSFORMS INDUCTION HEATING INTO A STAND-ALONE REPAIR TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN BE USED THROUGHOUT THE AIRCRAFT. USE OF THE NEW COIL SHOULD SPEED REPAIRS SIGNIFICANTLY WHILE REDUCING WEIGHT AND THE NEED FOR OTHER EQUIPMENT.