Healing of structural material workpieces

Abstract

A method of repairing a workpiece that comprises a structural material, the method comprising: applying a current to an electrolyte comprising a repair material so as to electroplate the repair material onto a fracture of the workpiece and onto a plating region proximate to the fracture of the workpiece so as to give rise to a repaired workpiece, the plating region defining an exposed area A e about the fracture, the workpiece defining a cross-section area A m at the fracture, A e /A m is in the range of from about 10 to about 150, the plating being accomplished such that the healed workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U that is within about 20% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M of a corresponding pristine workpiece, and optionally, at least one of the structural material and the repair material comprising at least one metal.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method of repairing a workpiece that comprises a structural material, the method comprising:
 applying a current to an electrolyte comprising a repair material so as to electroplate the repair material onto a fracture of the workpiece and onto a plating region proximate to the fracture of the workpiece so as to give rise to a repaired workpiece,
 the plating region defining an exposed area A e  about the fracture, 
 the workpiece defining a cross-section area A m  at the fracture, 
 A e /A m  is in the range of from about 10 to about 150, 
 the plating being accomplished such that the repaired workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 20% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece, and 
 optionally, at least one of the structural material and the repair material comprising at least one metal. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current is constant. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current is intermittent. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current is in the range of from about 1 mA to about 10 A. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plating is performed such that the repaired workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 5% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plating is performed such that the repaired workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 0.10% of the corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the repair material and the structural material differ from one another. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the repair material comprises a plurality of different metals. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the repair material and the structural material is characterized as unweldable or difficult to weld. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein A e /A m  is in the range of from about 10 to about 100. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (i) the workpiece defines a shellular structure, (ii) the fracture resides in a strut of the workpiece, or both (i) and (ii). 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed at ambient temperature. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the workpiece is masked so as to expose the exposed area A e  of the workpiece to the electrolyte. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising application of a mask to the at least a portion of the workpiece so to expose the exposed area A e  of the workpiece to the electrolyte. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte is disposed in an enclosure having the fracture contained therein. 
     
     
         16 . A method of constructing a workpiece, comprising:
 applying a current to an electrolyte comprising joint metal so as to incorporate joint metal (i) into a gap between a first metallic section comprising a first structural metal and a second metallic section comprising a second structural metal and (ii) onto a plating region proximate to the first metallic section and the second metallic section so as to give rise to a workpiece comprising joint metal connecting the first metallic section and the second metallic section,
 the plating region defining an exposed area A e , 
 the first metallic section and the second metallic section defining a cross-section area A m  at the gap between the first metallic section and the second metallic section, and 
 A e /A m  is in the range of from about 10 to about 150, and 
 optionally, the plating being accomplished such that the workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 20% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of either one of the first metallic section and the second metallic section. 
   
     
     
         17 . A material repair system, comprising:
 an electrolyte comprising a repair metal;   a fractured workpiece comprising structural metal; and   a source of current configured to apply a current to the electrolyte,
 the system configured to effect application of the current to the electrolyte so as to electroplate repair metal onto a fracture of the workpiece and onto a plating region of the workpiece extending from the fracture of the workpiece so as to give rise to a repaired workpiece, 
 the plating region defining an exposed area A e  about the fracture, 
 the workpiece defining a cross-section area A m  at the fracture, and 
 A e /A m  is in the range of from about 10 to about 150, and 
 the plating being accomplished such that the repaired workpiece exhibits a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 20% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
   
     
     
         18 . The material repairing system of  claim 17 , wherein the repair metal comprises a plurality of different metals. 
     
     
         19 . The material repairing system of  claim 17 , further comprising a mask disposed on the workpiece so as to expose the exposed area A e  of the workpiece to the source of repair metal. 
     
     
         20 . The material repairing system of  claim 17 , wherein the source of current is configured to apply any one or more of (i) a constant current and (ii) an intermittent current. 
     
     
         21 . A repaired workpiece, comprising:
 a first portion comprising a first structural metal;   a second portion comprising a second structural metal; and   a joint region,
 the joint region comprising (i) repair metal bridging a gap between the first portion and the second portion and (ii) repair metal disposed on a plating region that extends from the gap along the first portion and the second portion,
 the plating region defining an exposed area A e , 
 the workpiece defining a cross-section area A m  at the gap, 
 A e /A m  being in the range of from about 10 to about 100, and 
 the repaired workpiece having a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 20% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
 
   
     
     
         22 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein the first structural metal and the second structural metal comprise the same metal. 
     
     
         23 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein the first structural metal and the second structural metal comprise different metals. 
     
     
         24 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein the repair metal differs from one or more of the first structural metal and the second structural metal. 
     
     
         25 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein any one or more of the first structural metal, the second structural metal, and the repair metal is an unweldable metal. 
     
     
         26 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein the repaired workpiece has a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 5% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
     
     
         27 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 26 , wherein the repaired workpiece has a tensile strength σ U  that is within about 0.10% of a corresponding tensile strength σ M  of a corresponding pristine workpiece. 
     
     
         28 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein (i) the workpiece defines a shellular structure, (ii) the gap resides in a strut of the workpiece, or both (i) and (ii). 
     
     
         29 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein further comprising a mask disposed on the workpiece so to expose the exposed area A e  of the workpiece. 
     
     
         30 . The repaired workpiece of  claim 21 , wherein Ae/Am is in the range of from about 25 to about 75.