Technology roadmap for composite joining and repair

With the increasing use of composite materials in multiple industries, especially for commercial aircrafts, maintenance and repair of composite parts and structures are becoming an urgent industrial challenge. This technology roadmap was developed by the Consortium for Accelerated Innovation and Insertion of Advanced Composites (CAIIAC). The technology scope included major areas of composite joining and repair (CJAR), namely, nondestructive inspection, materials, processes, computational tools, automation, workforce training, and standards and regulatory issues. For each area, in addition to gathering experts' input from interviews and workshops, we extensively collected technical publication and patent data from databases. The meta-roadmapping methodology was utilized with quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Each area was summarized by tables, including state-of-the-art development and industrial needs and challenges, and technological development/trend predictions. Furthermore, the roadmaps are graphically presented with the technology development trend and timeline, and technology, manufacturing and business case readiness level (TRL, MRL, and BcRL) assessment. This concise but comprehensive review and forecast of CJAR-related technologies could be of interest to those involved in research of the related academic and industrial communities.