Solid state self-healing system: effects of using immiscible healing agents

The solid state self-healing system was obtained by employs a thermosetting epoxy resin, into which a thermoplastic is dissolved. The aim of this study is to identify the effect of using immiscible healing agents, which are polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl alcohol, on solid state self-healing system. Healing was achieved by heating the fractured resins to a specific temperatureabove their glass transition temperature (Tg) which obtained from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in order for thermal expansion to occur. The thermal properties and bonding formed in the epoxy resins were characterized by means of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Izod impact test was performed in preliminary work. Further work then has been done using compact tension test to demonstrate details self-healing capability of the different specimens. Under compact tension test, it was found that healable resin with PVC has highest healing efficiency followed PVA with 7.4% and 3% of average percentage healing efficiencies respectively. These results are due to the different solubility parameters of the thermoset/network and thermoplastic polymer which led to the phase separation. Morphological studies using microscope optic prove the fracture-healing process and morphological properties of the resins