Production defects in marine composite structures: Their causes and their influence on structural performance

Composite structures are often used when there is a requirement for low weight. Then a key aspect is to be able to take full advantage of the material and utilise it to its limits. To do this it is important to achieve as low a variability as possible in the manufacture of such structures, and to have a good understanding of the way in which production defects and imperfections influence the structural performance, so that adequate levels of structural safety and reliability can be achieved without having to apply excessively large factors of safety. A review is made of the types of defects that arise in the relevant production processes, of their causes and the means that can be used to reduce or eliminate them, and of models that enable the effects of defects and imperfections on structural performance to be predicted.