Guandi Wang

An Investigation in Adhesion Failure of Paint on Modern Composite Aircraft Structures

Started Mar. 1, 2022

Abstract or project description

The peeling paint issue found on multiple A350s across multiple airlines, like Qatar Airways as an extreme case, raised concerns in people who work in the airline industry and people who love airplanes. The Airbus A350 is made of 53% of composites and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made of 50% of composites, and that of both aircrafts is distributed on their bodies and wings. As digging deeper into the articles and websites talking about the threat to the safety of aircrafts with peeling paint, as well as the articles providing images that reveal the level of damage peeling paint did on Qatar Airways A350 composite bodies and on Air New Zealand B787 composite wings, it is obvious to see the trend that peeling paint scenarios mostly happen on composite structures rather than being a worldwide case that can be found on most aircrafts across the airline industry. Using more composites as structure of aircrafts is the future of the airline industry due to its weight advantage that provides high fuel efficiency for aircrafts to fly longer non-stop routes, but the paint falling issue still remains unsolved and thus adds a negative perspective to the beloved composite structure. In this research paper, I test the relationship between composite structures and paint peeling problems by conducting experiments with composites, epoxy coating, and paint that are used on aircrafts accompanied by environment aircrafts most likely experienced in the real world. I also brainstorm possible solutions and test the results to improve this issue.