scholarly journals Pressurized vascular systems for self-healing materials

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (70) ◽  
pp. 1020-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Hamilton ◽  
N. R. Sottos ◽  
S. R. White

An emerging strategy for creating self-healing materials relies on embedded vascular networks of microchannels to transport reactive fluids to regions of damage. Here we investigate the use of active pumping for the pressurized delivery of a two-part healing system, allowing a small vascular system to deliver large volumes of healing agent. Different pumping strategies are explored to improve the mixing and subsequent polymerization of healing agents in the damage zone. Significant improvements in the number of healing cycles and in the overall healing efficiency are achieved compared with prior passive schemes that use only capillary forces for the delivery of healing agents. At the same time, the volume of the vascular system required to achieve this superior healing performance is significantly reduced. In the best case, nearly full recovery of fracture toughness is attained throughout 15 cycles of damage and healing, with a vascular network constituting just 0.1 vol% of the specimen.

2021 ◽  
pp. 105678952110112
Author(s):  
Kaihang Han ◽  
Jiann-Wen Woody Ju ◽  
Yinghui Zhu ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Tien-Shu Chang ◽  
...  

The cementitious composites with microencapsulated healing agents have become a class of hotspots in the field of construction materials, and they have very broad application prospects and research values. The in-depth study on multi-scale mechanical behaviors of microencapsulated self-healing cementitious composites is critical to quantitatively account for the mechanical response during the damage-healing process. This paper proposes a three-dimensional evolutionary micromechanical model to quantitatively explain the self-healing effects of microencapsulated healing agents on the damage induced by microcracks. By virtue of the proposed 3 D micromechanical model, the evolutionary domains of microcrack growth (DMG) and corresponding compliances of the initial, extended and repaired phases are obtained. Moreover, the elaborate studies are conducted to inspect the effects of various system parameters involving the healing efficiency, fracture toughness and preloading-induced damage degrees on the compliances and stress-strain relations. The results indicate that relatively significant healing efficiency, preloading-induced damage degree and the fracture toughness of polymerized healing agent with the matrix will lead to a higher compressive strength and stiffness. However, the specimen will break owing to the nucleated microcracks rather than the repaired kinked microcracks. Further, excessive higher values of healing efficiency, preloading-induced damage degree and the fracture toughness of polymerized healing agent with the matrix will not affect the compressive strength of the cementitious composites. Therefore, a stronger matrix is required. To achieve the desired healing effects, the specific parameters of both the matrix and microcapsules should be selected prudently.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina De Nardi ◽  
Diane Gardner ◽  
Anthony Duncan Jefferson

This paper presents a new form of biomimetic cementitious material, which employs 3D-printed tetrahedral mini-vascular networks (MVNs) to store and deliver healing agents to damage sites within cementitious matrices. The MVNs are required to not only protect the healing agent for a sufficient period of time but also survive the mixing process, release the healing agent when the cementitious matrix is damaged, and have minimal impact on the physical and mechanical properties of the host cementitious matrix. A systematic study is described which fulfilled these design requirements and determined the most appropriate form and material for the MVNs. A subsequent series of experiments showed that MVNs filled with sodium silicate, embedded in concrete specimens, are able to respond effectively to damage, behave as a perfusable vascular system and thus act as healing agent reservoirs that are available for multiple damage-healing events. It was also proved that healing agents encapsulated within these MVNs can be transported to cracked zones in concrete elements under capillary driving action, and produce a recovery of strength, stiffness and fracture energy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 996 ◽  
pp. 104-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Hong Yang ◽  
Xian Feng Wang ◽  
Ning Xu Han ◽  
Feng Xing

In this study, Na2CO3 solution as a self-healing agent was impregnated in LWA for autonomic self-healing on cracked cementitious material. The results showed that under the joint action of expansive agent, crystalline additive, phosphate and carbonate, the crack area showed a high self-healing efficiency (close to 70%) after curing in the still water 28d. SEM-EDS test results showed that in addition to ettringite and C-S-H/C-A-S-H, there was also a large amount of CaCO3 crystal in the depths of the crack.


2013 ◽  
Vol 716 ◽  
pp. 387-390
Author(s):  
Tao Yin ◽  
Min Zhi Rong ◽  
Ming Qiu Zhang

Epoxy composites were provided with healing capability by pre-dispersing a novel repair system in the composites matrix cured by 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole (2E4MIm). The healing agent consisted of ureaformaldehyde microcapsules containing epoxy and latent hardener CuBr2(2-MeIm)4 (the complex of CuBr2 and 2-methylimidazole). Single-edge notched bending (SENB) test were conducted to evaluate fracture toughness of the composites before and after healing. Moreover, healing efficiency was studied as a function of the content of the two-component healing agents. It was found that a healing efficiency of 173% relative to the fracture toughness of virgin composites was obtained in the case of 15 wt% epoxy-loaded microcapsules and 3 wt% CuBr2(2-MeIm)4.


2013 ◽  
Vol 07 (03) ◽  
pp. 1350014 ◽  
Author(s):  
BIQIN DONG ◽  
NINGXU HAN ◽  
MING ZHANG ◽  
XIANFENG WANG ◽  
HONGZHI CUI ◽  
...  

In the study, a novel microcapsule technology based self-healing system for concrete structures has been developed. Through situ-polymerization reaction, the microcapsule is formed by urea formaldehyde resin to pack the epoxy material, which is applied to cementitious composite to achieve self-healing effect. The experimental results revealed that the self-healing efficiency of the composite can be accessed from the recovery of the permeability and strength for the cracked cementitious specimens as the healing agent in the microcapsule acting on the cracks directly. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM/EDX) results show that the epoxy resin is released along with the cracking of the cementitious composite and prevent from cracks continued growth. Further studies show that the self-healing efficiency is affected by the pre-loading of composite, particle size of microcapsule, aging duration of healing agent and so on.


2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 1898-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Caruso ◽  
Benjamin J. Blaiszik ◽  
Scott R. White ◽  
Nancy R. Sottos ◽  
Jeffrey S. Moore

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-85
Author(s):  
Rahul Roy ◽  
Emanuele Rossi ◽  
Johan Silfwerbrand ◽  
Henk Jonkers

AbstractCrack formation in concrete structures due to various load and non-load factors leading to degradation of service life is very common. Repair and maintenance operations are, therefore, necessary to prevent cracks propagating and reducing the service life of the structures. Accessibility to affected areas can, however, be difficult as the reconstruction and maintenance of concrete buildings are expensive in labour and capital. Autonomous healing by encapsulated bacteria-based self-healing agents is a possible solution. During this process, the bacteria are released from a broken capsule or triggered by water and oxygen access. However, its performance and reliability depend on continuous water supply, protection against the harsh environment, and densification of the cementitious matrix for the bacteria to act. There are vast methods of encapsulating bacteria and the most common carriers used are: encapsulation in polymeric materials, lightweight aggregates, cementitious materials, special minerals, nanomaterials, and waste-derived biomass. Self-healing efficiency of these encapsulated technologies can be assessed through many experimental methodologies according to the literature. These experimental evaluations are performed in terms of quantification of crackhealing, recovery of durability and mechanical properties (macro-level test) and characterization of precipitated crystals by healing agent (micro-level test). Until now, quantification of crack-healing by light microscopy revealed maximum crack width of 1.80mm healed. All research methods available for assesing self-healing efficiency of bacteria-based healing agents are worth reviewing in order to include a coherent, if not standardized framework testing system and a comparative evaluation for a novel incorporated bacteria-based healing agent.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rulin Shen ◽  
Ryoichi S. Amano ◽  
Giovanni Lewinski ◽  
Arun Kumar Koralagundi Matt

Self-healing wind turbine blades offer a substantial offset for costly blade repairs and failures. We discuss the efforts made to optimize the self-healing properties of wind turbine blades and provide a new system to maximize this offset. Copper wire coated by paraffin wax was embedded into fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) samples incorporated with Grubbs' first-generation catalyst. The wires were extracted from cured samples to create cavities that were then injected with the healing agent, dicyclopentadiene (DCPD). Upon sample failure, the DCPD and catalyst react to form a thermosetting polymer to heal any crack propagation. Three-point bending flexural tests were performed to obtain the maximum flexural strengths of the FRP samples before and after recovery. Using those results, a hierarchy of various vascular network configurations was derived. To evaluate the healing system's effect in a real-life application, a prototype wind turbine was fabricated and wind tunnel testing was conducted. Using ultraviolet (UV) dye, storage and transport processes of the healing agent were observed. After 24 h of curing time, Raman spectroscopy was performed. The UV dye showed dispersion into the failure zone, and the Raman spectra showed the DCPD was polymerized to polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD). Both the flexural and wind tunnel test samples were able to heal successfully, proving the validity of the process.


2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Van Tittelboom ◽  
Nele De Belie ◽  
Denis Van Loo ◽  
Patric Jacobs

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