Self-healing polymer composites: mimicking nature to enhance performance

Autonomic self-healing materials, where initiation of repair is integral to the material, are being developed for engineering applications. This bio-inspired concept offers the designer an ability to incorporate secondary functional materials capable of counteracting service degradation whilst still achieving the primary, usually structural, requirement. Most materials in nature are themselves self-healing composite materials. This paper reviews the various self-healing technologies currently being developed for fibre reinforced polymeric composite materials, most of which are bioinspired, inspired by observation of nature. The most recent self-healing work has attempted to mimic natural healing through the study of mammalian blood clotting and the design of vascular networks found in biological systems. A perspective on current and future self-healing approaches using this biomimetic technique is offered. The intention is to stimulate debate outside the engineering community and reinforce the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in this exciting field.

[1]  S. Nutt,et al.  A Thermally Re-mendable Cross-Linked Polymeric Material , 2002, Science.

[2]  C. Hougie,et al.  The waterfall‐cascade and autoprothrombin hypotheses of blood coagulation: personal reflections from an observer , 2004, Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH.

[3]  Naoki Takano,et al.  Intelligent Material Systems Using Epoxy Particles to Repair Microcracks and Delamination Damage in GFRP , 1999 .

[4]  I. Bond,et al.  A hollow fibre reinforced polymer composite encompassing self-healing and enhanced damage visibility , 2005 .

[5]  I H Kalfas,et al.  Principles of bone healing. , 2001, Neurosurgical focus.

[6]  J. Waite,et al.  Yield and post-yield behavior of mussel byssal thread: a self-healing biomolecular material. , 2001, Biomacromolecules.

[7]  Alan R. Biggs.  Suberized Boundary Zones and the Chronology of Wound Response in Tree Bark , 1985 .

[8]  A. Bloom.  Haemostasis and thrombosis , 1981 .

[9]  M. Richardson,et al.  Review of low-velocity impact properties of composite materials , 1996 .

[10]  Yoseph Bar-Cohen,et al.  Biomimetics—using nature to inspire human innovation , 2006, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[11]  Carolyn M. Dry,et al.  A COMPARISON OF BENDING STRENGTH BETWEEN ADHESIVE AND STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH STEEL ONLY REINFORCED CONCRETE , 2003 .

[12]  N. Sottos,et al.  Autonomic healing of polymer composites , 2001, Nature.

[13]  Carolyn M. Dry,et al.  Matrix cracking repair and filling using active and passive modes for smart timed release of chemicals from fibers into cement matrices , 1994 .

[14]  Ian Bond,et al.  Optimisation of Hollow Glass Fibres and their Composites , 1999 .

[15]  Zhigang Suo,et al.  New directions in mechanics , 2005 .

[16]  R. Superfine,et al.  Fibrin Fibers Have Extraordinary Extensibility and Elasticity , 2006, Science.

[17]  S. White,et al.  Self-activated healing of delamination damage in woven composites , 2001 .

[18]  R. Macfarlane.  An Enzyme Cascade in the Blood Clotting Mechanism, and its Function as a Biochemical Amplifier , 1964, Nature.

[19]  Anna C. Balazs,et al.  Entropy-driven segregation of nanoparticles to cracks in multilayered composite polymer structures , 2006 .

[20]  Carolyn M. Dry,et al.  Procedures developed for self-repair of polymer matrix composite materials , 1996 .

[21]  Hugh A. Bruck,et al.  The role of mechanics in biological and biologically inspired materials , 2002 .

[22]  N. Sottos,et al.  Retardation and repair of fatigue cracks in a microcapsule toughened epoxy composite – Part I: Manual infiltration , 2005 .

[23]  C D Murray,et al.  The Physiological Principle of Minimum Work: I. The Vascular System and the Cost of Blood Volume. , 1926, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[24]  Carolyn M. Dry.  Smart materials which sense, activate and repair damage; hollow porous fibers in composites release chemicals from fibers for self-healing, damage prevention, and/or dynamic control , 1992, Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[25]  Anna C Balazs,et al.  Using nanoparticles to create self-healing composites. , 2004, The Journal of chemical physics.

[26]  I. Bond,et al.  'Bleeding composites' - damage detection and self-repair using a biomimetic approach , 2005 .

[27]  Carolyn M. Dry,et al.  Three designs for the internal release of sealants, adhesives, and waterproofing chemicals into concrete to reduce permeability , 2000 .

[28]  Alan R. Biggs.  Anatomical and Physiological Responses of Bark Tissues to Mechanical Injury , 1992 .

[29]  Alex L. Shigo,et al.  Compartmentalization: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding How Trees Grow and Defend Themselves , 1984 .

[30]  and R M Bostock,et al.  Perspectives on Wound Healing in Resistance to Pathogens , 1989 .

[31]  N. Sottos,et al.  Self-healing structural composite materials , 2003 .

[32]  Mario Viani,et al.  Molecular mechanistic origin of the toughness of natural adhesives, fibres and composites , 1999, Nature.

[33]  J. Waite,et al.  The peculiar collagens of mussel byssus. , 1998, Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology.

[34]  I. Bond,et al.  Biomimetic self-healing of advanced composite structures using hollow glass fibres , 2006 .

[35]  U. Vaidya,et al.  Parametric studies on self-repairing approaches for resin infused composites subjected to low velocity impact , 1999 .

[36]  E. Davie,et al.  Waterfall Sequence for Intrinsic Blood Clotting , 1964, Science.

[37]  N. Sottos,et al.  Retardation and repair of fatigue cracks in a microcapsule toughened epoxy composite—Part II: In situ self-healing , 2005 .

[38]  Frederick R. Adler,et al.  Murray's law and the hydraulic vs mechanical functioning of wood , 2004 .

[39]  J. Vincent,et al.  Systematic technology transfer from biology to engineering , 2002, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[40]  P. Curtis,et al.  A smart repair system for polymer matrix composites , 2001 .

[41]  Robert A. Blanchette,et al.  Defense Mechanisms of Woody Plants Against Fungi , 1992, Springer Series in Wood Science.

[42]  Ajit K. Mal,et al.  New Thermally Remendable Highly Cross-Linked Polymeric Materials , 2003 .

[43]  Ian P Bond,et al.  Investigation into the behaviour of hollow glass fibre bundles under compressive loading , 2003 .

[44]  I. Bond,et al.  Bioinspired self-healing of advanced composite structures using hollow glass fibres , 2007, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[45]  Yun Mook Lim,et al.  Feasibility study of a passive smart self-healing cementitious composite , 1998 .

[46]  Rustem F Ismagilov,et al.  Minimal functional model of hemostasis in a biomimetic microfluidic system. , 2004, Angewandte Chemie.

[47]  N. Tamaki,et al.  Surgical approaches and strategies for skull base chordomas. , 2001, Neurosurgical focus.

[48]  P. T. Curtis.  Multifunctional polymer composites , 1996 .

[49]  J. Sperry,et al.  Water transport in plants obeys Murray's law , 2003, Nature.

[50]  Carolyn M. Dry,et al.  Three-part methylmethacrylate adhesive system as an internal delivery system for smart responsive concrete , 1996 .

[51]  T F Sherman,et al.  On connecting large vessels to small. The meaning of Murray's law , 1981, The Journal of general physiology.

[52]  Ian P Bond,et al.  Experimental evaluation of unidirectional hollow glass fibre/epoxy composites under compressive loading , 2003 .

[53]  L A Taber,et al.  Investigating Murray's law in the chick embryo. , 2001, Journal of biomechanics.