Self-healing resin systems have been discussed for over a decade and four different technologies had been proposed. However, little work on their application as composite matrices has been published although this was one of the stated aims of the earliest work in the field. This paper reports on the optimization of a solid-state self-healing resin system and its subsequent use as a matrix for high volume fraction glass fibre-reinforced composites. The resin system was optimized using Charpy impact testing and repeated healing, while the efficiency of healing in composites was determined by analysing the growth of delaminations following repeated impacts with or without a healing cycle. To act as a reference, a non-healing resin system was subjected to the same treatments and the results are compared with the healable system. The optimized resin system displays a healing efficiency of 65% after the first healing cycle, dropping to 35 and 30% after the second and third healing cycles, respectively. Correction for any healability due to further curing showed that approximately 50% healing efficiency could be achieved with the bisphenol A-based epoxy resin containing 7.5% of polybisphenol-A-co-epichlorohydrin. The composite, on the other hand, displays a healing efficiency of approximately 30%. It is therefore clear that the solid-state self-healing system is capable of healing transverse cracks and delaminations in a composite, but that more work is needed to optimize matrix healing within a composite and to develop a methodology for assessing recovery in performance.
Openability of consumer packaging is becoming a major issue as the demographics of society are changing and society is getting older. Sadly, ageing brings with it many issues, not least a loss of strength and dexterity. In order to design effective packaging, understanding the ability of aged consumers is crucial. This paper outlines the development of a torque-measuring device and the results obtained to date.
This paper presents a general overview of a number of optical fibre sensor systems which have been developed and used in advanced fibre-reinforced composites for in-situ process and condition monitoring. The in-situ process monitoring techniques were optical-fibre-based evanescent wave spectroscopy, transmission near-infrared spectroscopy and refractive index monitoring. The optical fibre sensors were successful in tracking the cure reaction. The condition monitoring of advanced fibre-reinforced composites was carried out using two intensity-based optical fibre sensor systems: an extrinsic multi-mode Fabry-P érot sensor and Bragg gratings. In addition to this, the feasibility of using the reinforcing fibre as a light guide was demonstrated. These sensor systems were evaluated under quasi-static, impact and fatigue loading. The test specimens consisted of prepreg-based carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy and glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy filament-wound tubes. Excellent correlation was obtained between surface-mounted strain gauges and the embedded optical fibre sensors. The feasibility of using these sensor systems for the detection of impact damage and stiffness reduction in the composite due to fatigue damage was successfully demonstrated.
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