Repairing the micro-scale damage
of insulating materials
under
a strong electric field has long been a highly desired but challenging
task. Among all kinds of damage, water tree damage in the insulating
materials of electrical equipment and electronic devices working in
humid environments has long been considered irreparable. The main
challenge is that residual water prevents the healing agent from filling
the water tree branch channel. To solve this problem, this work reports
a magnetically targeted, water-triggered, self-healing microcapsule
(MTWTSH-MC) that makes a breakthrough against water tree damage based
on microfluidic techniques. Targeted microcapsules driven by a directional
magnetic field are concentrated to the vulnerable area of the insulating
materials, exerting very limited effects on the dielectric. When damage
breaks the microcapsules, the healing agent releases and quickly fills
the damage channel and then reacts with water in the air or in the
branch channel of the water tree, achieving solidification of the
healing agent and self-healing of the damage channels. In this way,
we can realize self-perception, self-triggering, and self-healing
for both mechanical damage and water tree damage in insulation materials
without any external stimulation.
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