Characterization and Performance of a Self -Healing Composite Material

176 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002.A study of the healing of delamination damage in woven reinforced epoxy composites is performed. Three types of healing process are studied. In the first, a catalyzed monomer is manually injected into the delamination. In the second, a self-activated material is created by embedding the catalyst directly into the matrix of the composite, then manually injecting the monomer. In the third, a fully integrated in situ system is described with embedded microcapsules and catalyst. Double-cantilever-beam (DCB) and width-tapered double-cantilever-beam (WTDCB) specimens were tested to study the healing of delamination in composites by comparing the toughness of the virgin specimen with the toughness of the same specimen after healing was complete. Scanning electron microscopy is used to analyze the fracture surfaces and provide physical evidence of repair.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD