Self-Repairing Materials

Science & Technology Science

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-02-14 09:13:19 |

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Engineering researchers have developed a groundbreaking self-healing composite that enables structures to repair themselves in place, eliminating the need for removal from service. This innovation overcomes two major limitations of previous self-repairing materials and has the potential to significantly extend the lifespan of structural components like wind turbine blades and aircraft wings.

According to Jason Patrick, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of the research, earlier self-healing composites had two key challenges: many required heating in an oven to activate the healing process—impractical for large, in-use components—and their self-repairing capability diminished after a few cycles. The newly developed material addresses both issues while preserving the strength and performance of structural fiber composites.

The new self-repairing composite consists of laminated layers of fiber reinforcement, such as glass or carbon fiber, bonded together. Damage typically occurs when the bonding agent between layers starts to peel, leading to delamination. The research team tackled this by 3D printing a thermoplastic healing agent directly onto the reinforcement material. Additionally, they embedded thin heating layers within the composite. When an electrical current is applied, these layers generate heat, melting the healing agent, which then flows into cracks and microfractures to repair them.

Notably, this healing process can be repeated at least 100 times without losing effectiveness. Furthermore, the thermoplastic layer enhances the material’s resistance to fracture by up to 500%, making it significantly more durable. Since the healing agent and heater layers are made from readily available and cost-effective materials, this technology is not only practical but also sustainable. By increasing the longevity of structural composites, this breakthrough could have widespread applications across industries, including aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy.

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