Healing of a glass fibre reinforced composite with a disulphide containing organic-inorganic epoxy matrix
W. Post (TU Delft - Novel Aerospace Materials)
A. Cohades (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
V Michaud (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
Sybrand Van der ZWAAG (TU Delft - Novel Aerospace Materials)
SJ García (TU Delft - Novel Aerospace Materials)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
We report the development of an intrinsic healing glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite based on a disulphide-containing organic-inorganic thermoset matrix. Thermomechanical experiments showed that the newly developed matrix has a combination of a Young's modulus value in the range of (800–1200 MPa), the ability to multiple thermally induced healing delamination (70–85 °C), and processability by conventional vacuum infusion process that is not yet reported in literature. The composite mechanical properties and the extent of healing were determined by flexural, fracture and low-velocity impact testing. Small sized (<cm2) damage could be partially healed multiple times using a minimal healing pressure to ensure a good alignment of the damaged interfaces. The level of healing can be enhanced, even for large (>cm2) damage, by increasing the healing pressure provided the location of the primary damage is concentrated within the matrix phase. The polymer matrix composite introduced here represents a significant step forward from the often mechanically inferior intrinsically self-healing composites towards structural self-healing composites.
help_outline