1. Poly(methyl methacrylate) as Healing Agent for Carbon Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Composites
- Author
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Mónica Peñas-Caballero, Enrico Chemello, Antonio Mattia Grande, Marianella Hernández Santana, Raquel Verdejo, Miguel A. Lopez-Manchado, and Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
- Subjects
Polymers and Plastics ,carbon fibre ,coating ,self-healing ,General Chemistry ,thermoplastic ,fracture toughness - Abstract
Self-healing materials offer a potential solution to the problem of damage to fibre-reinforced plastics (FRPs) by allowing for the in-service repair of composite materials at a lower cost, in less time, and with improved mechanical properties compared to traditional repair methods. This study investigates for the first time the use of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a self-healing agent in FRPs and evaluates its effectiveness both when blended with the matrix and when applied as a coating to carbon fibres. The self-healing properties of the material are evaluated using double cantilever beam (DCB) tests for up to three healing cycles. The blending strategy does not impart a healing capacity to the FRP due to its discrete and confined morphology; meanwhile, coating the fibres with the PMMA results in healing efficiencies of up to 53% in terms of fracture toughness recovery. This efficiency remains constant, with a slight decrease over three subsequent healing cycles. It has been demonstrated that spray coating is a simple and scalable method of incorporating a thermoplastic agent into an FRP. This study also compares the healing efficiency of specimens with and without a transesterification catalyst and finds that the catalyst does not increase the healing efficiency, but it does improve the interlaminar properties of the material., This research was funded by the State Research Agency of Spain (AEI), under grant number PID2019-107501RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
- Published
- 2023
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