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Development of Polyamide 6 (PA6)/Polycaprolactone (PCL) Thermoplastic Self-Healing Polymer Blends for Multifunctional Structural Composites
- Source :
- Applied Sciences; Volume 12; Issue 23; Pages: 12357
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022.
-
Abstract
- High-performance composites suffer from fatigue crack propagation during service. Traditional repair methods can be expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, research on composites with self-healing capabilities has considerably increased in the past decade. The aim of this work is to develop a polyamide 6 (PA6) matrix with self-healing properties. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as healing agent and melt compounded with PA6. PCL caused a decrease of the mechanical properties of PA6, due to its immiscibility and low mechanical properties. Nevertheless, acceptable fracture toughness values in quasi-static mode were obtained. Samples were thermally mended at 80 and 100 °C, and the healing efficiency was assessed by comparing the fracture toughness of virgin and repaired samples both in quasi-static and in impact mode. The blend with a PCL content of 30 wt% showed limited healing efficiency values (up to 6%) in quasi-static mode, while an interesting repair capability (53%) was detected under impact conditions. This discrepancy was explained through microstructural analysis and correlated to a different fracture morphology. In fact, under quasi-static mode, the PA6 matrix was severely plasticized, while under impact a brittle fracture surface was obtained. This morphology favored the flow of PCL during the thermal healing process.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20763417
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Applied Sciences; Volume 12; Issue 23; Pages: 12357
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8bb3b58cbdbb9f8a8e2e4943fc25c55e
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312357