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A Multifunctional Composite Framework with Self-Healing and Guided Wave-Based States Awareness
Shilei Wang1, Yihang Cai1, Qidi Shan1
1Research Center of Structural Health Monitoring and Prognosis, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 13, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a smart composite material that can both heal itself and monitor its own damage using guided waves. This integrated system enables real-time tracking of structural health for advanced aeronautical applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Aerospace Engineering
- Structural Health Monitoring
Background:
- Modern aeronautical engineering requires advanced materials with capabilities beyond load-bearing.
- Self-healing composites offer autonomous repair but need reliable in situ damage perception.
- Integrating structural health monitoring with self-healing is crucial for practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a multifunctional composite framework integrating self-healing with guided wave-based structural health monitoring.
- To enable closed-loop tracking of the "healthy-damaged-healed" state of composite structures.
- To provide a self-aware and self-healing material system for aeronautical applications.
Main Methods:
- Systematic analysis of guided wave mode interactions with simulated and impact damage states.
- Introduction of a state index method for damage propagation characterization and state differentiation.
- Experimental validation of the integrated framework's spatial awareness and localization accuracy.
Main Results:
- Accurate localization of simulated damage with a minimum error of 5 mm.
- Precise localization of barely visible impact damage (3 mm) and self-healing states (5 mm).
- All localization errors were consistently below 9 mm, demonstrating high reliability.
Conclusions:
- The proposed multifunctional strategy effectively integrates self-healing and structural health monitoring.
- The framework provides reliable, closed-loop tracking of structural integrity in composite materials.
- This research offers a paradigm for next-generation intelligent, damage-resilient aeronautical structures.
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