Theoretical

• Current state of composite technology: history, recent development and terminology. Characteristics of advanced composite materials
• Material forms: dry cloth and wet resin vs. pre-preg, weave/styles, etc.
  Fabrication methods: wet layup, pre-preg layup, filament winding, RTM, press moulding, pultrusion
• Resin.matrix systems: thermosets vs. thermoplastics, temperature ranges, cold storage requirements/shelf life limits, adhesives
• Fundamentals of fabrication: pre-preg cloth handling, ply orientation, lay-up procedures, vacuum bagging
• Curing methods: oven/autoclave/hot bonder cures
• Adhesive bonding technology: co-curing vs. secondary bonding, surface preparation, curing temperatures, cleanliness, pressure, blond line quality
• Inspection methods and techniques: non-destructive inspection methods, defect detection, galvanic corrosion, documentation, acceptable vs. unacceptable defects, defect prevention
• Principles of tooling: types of tools, thermal characteristics
• Repair methods: permanent vs. temporary repairs, scarf vs. stepped vs. mechanical patch repair scenarios, demo of hot bonder field repair units
  Fasteners: use of mechanical fasteners, adhesively bonded fasteners
• Health and safety issues: proper handling, personal protection, allergic reactions, water disposal

Practical

• Component lay-up using dry glass cloth and liquid epoxy resin materials.
• Vacuum bagging with varied bleeder/breather sequences to evaluate resin bleed and flow characteristics
• Component lay-up using pre-preg materials, including: asymmetric laminate made from carbon fibre unidirectional taps. Layup and processing of nested glass and aramid fibre fabric sandwich panels.
• Vacuum bagging using non-autoclave bleeder/breather schedules.
• Thermocouple placement. Pleating to minimize bridging in high-angle core transitions.
• Vacuum debulking, leak checking, other potential bagging problems.
• Over curing; ramp rate, soak, and cooling requirements. Introduction to hot-bond repair equipment.
• Wet-layup repair: damage removal, scarf preparation, core and skin repair, use of wet resins and cloth for repairs, core plug repairs.