... then decay linearly to zero at the free surface of the skin (or plane of symmetry in the case of a patch on both sides of the skin). This results in the matrix D having the form: D =fO ... to design several complex repair schemes, such as the repair of fatigue cracks in the lower skin of Mirage aircraft [2], and cracks on the upper surface of the wing pivot fitting of FlllC aircraft ... program, reported in reference [I6], have confirmed this need. Indeed, the tendency for the centroid of the skin/patch combination to align itself with the plane of action of the remote load...