Abstract
A protocol is described to assess self-healing of crack damage in a polymer coating deposited on a substrate containing a microvascular network. The bio-inspired coating/substrate design delivers healing agent to cracks in the coating via a three-dimensional microvascular network embedded in the substrate. Through capillary action, monomer flows from the network channels into the crack plane where it is polymerized by a catalyst embedded in the coating. The healing efficiency of this materials system is assessed by the recovery of coating fracture toughness in a four-point beam bending experiment. Healing results for the microvascular networks are compared to data for a coating containing microencapsulated healing agents. A single crack in a brittle epoxy coating is healed as many as seven times in the microvascular systems, whereas microcapsule-based healing occurs for only one cycle. The ability to heal continuously with the microvascular networks is limited by the availability of catalyst in the coating.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 707-717 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Experimental Mechanics |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Autonomic
- Coating
- Fracture toughness
- Microvascular
- Self-healing
- Substrate
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mechanics of Materials
- Aerospace Engineering