Biomimetic self-healing of advanced composite structures using hollow glass fibres

TLDR

Self‑repair systems using functional components stored in hollow reinforcing fibres are being explored for future composite structures, with prior work investigating self‑healing in fibre‑reinforced polymers. The study investigates placing self‑healing plies in an FRP laminate to reduce damage and recover mechanical strength. The inclusion of hollow fibre layers initially reduces flexural strength by 16%, but after impact damage the laminate retains 72–74 % of its undamaged strength, and self‑healing restores 87 % of baseline strength, demonstrating that FRP laminates with hollow fibres can successfully self‑heal and enabling biomimetic repair of advanced composites.

Abstract

The use of functional repair components stored inside hollow reinforcing fibres is being considered as a self-repair system for future composite structures. The incorporation of a self-healing capability within a variety of materials, including fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs), has been investigated by a number of workers previously. This paper considers the placement of self-healing plies within an FRP to mitigate damage occurrence and restore mechanical strength. The flexural strength results indicate that the inclusion of hollow fibres results in an initial strength reduction of 16% from a baseline FRP laminate. However, the effect of impact damage on the performance of the baseline FRP laminate and the laminate containing the hollow fibre layers was comparable, with a flexural strength typically 72–74% of the undamaged state. Self-healing of the damage site saw the laminate recover 87% of the undamaged baseline FRP laminate's strength. This study provides clear evidence that an FRP laminate containing hollow fibre layers can successfully self-heal. This result suggests that biomimetic repair is now possible for advanced composite structures.