Abstract
Self-healing of fatigue damage is reported in laminated composites fabricated from unidirectional glass/epoxy prepreg with embedded microcapsules. Microcapsules (ca. 2.5 μm) containing a mixture of ethyl phenylacetate (EPA) solvent and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy are seamlessly incorporated into cross-ply [(0/90 3 ) 4 /0] T laminated composites. Specimens subjected to tension-tension fatigue testing followed by a 24 h rest period at ambient conditions recover 52% of the initial Young's modulus as a result of self-healing. Fluorescent labeling of microcapsules and matrix resin combined with confocal fluorescent imaging reveals that the healing agents wick into transverse fatigue cracks, ultimately rebonding the crack faces after self-healing. Furthermore, self-healing composite laminates exhibit a higher resistance to crack growth as a result of the presence of the embedded microcapsules. The fatigue behavior of laminated self-healing composites demonstrates the potential for extended fatigue life of fiber-reinforced polymer composites for structural applications.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 122-127 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Composites Science and Technology |
| Volume | 175 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 3 2019 |
Keywords
- A
- B
- C
- Elastic properties
- Fatigue
- Functional composites
- PMCs
- Transverse cracking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ceramics and Composites
- General Engineering