Damage properties simulations of self-healing composites

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Composites
• Self-Healing Materials

Background:

• Self-healing materials mimic biological systems for autonomic repair.
• Investigating damage mechanisms in these advanced materials is crucial for their development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically investigate the damage properties of self-healing polymer composites.
• To understand crack initiation and evolution in relation to microcapsule presence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized unit cell models with single-edge centered and off-centered cracks.
• Employed the extended finite element method (XFEM) for numerical simulation.
• Analyzed the effect of microcapsule Young's modulus on composite behavior.

Main Results:

• Microcapsule Young's modulus showed minimal impact on the unit cell's load-bearing capacity.
• Crack propagation was observed to be attracted towards microcapsules.
• This attraction facilitates microcapsule rupture by crack fronts.

Conclusions:

• The inherent attraction of cracks to microcapsules is a key mechanism for self-healing.
• Ruptured microcapsules effectively release healing agents into cracks via capillary action.
• This validates numerical simulation for understanding self-healing composite damage dynamics.