Air Logistics Corporation

Franz L Worth

Steve R Bazinet

John W Wegner

Lawrence D Cercone

A method for making a repair to a repair site of a structure made from at least a first tube and a second tube which are joined together with welds. The method includes cleaning and preparing the at least first tube and second tube tubes at the repair site for bonding with composite repair materials. Next, fiber-reinforced polymer composite repair materials are applied to the repair site. These composite materials include at least one elongate, composite tendon strip which is placed on the at least a first tube and a second tube such that the composite tendon strip bridges at least the first tube and a second tube, and a composite strip which is wrapped around and overlays the tendon strip with additional composite strips. The invention also provides a metal structure reinforced with a composite material repair site according to the method.

Method of repairing multiple tube structures and repaired multiple tube structures

In the process of wrapping a strip-like flexible repair substrate around a cylindrical article such as a pipe, an edge of the repair substrate is aligned with at least one visible indicia along the length of the previously wrapped repair substrate to easily control the amount of overlap, or pitch of the helix, between adjacent substrate layers created by successive wraps of the substrate about the article. Each of these indicia allow the substrate to overlap the previously wrapped substrate by a consistent amount, the amount desired being dependent upon the application and amount of strength required for the repair.

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Angwin, CA, United States of America

Franz L Worth