Self-Healing Adhesives and Composites for Aerospace Systems

Self-healing composites and adhesives would alleviate longstanding problems in aerospace structures associated with multiple types of damage mechanisms such as mechanical/thermal fatigue, microcracking, and debonding. For example, a self-healing composite cryogenic tank would prevent leakage by sealing microcracks throughout the lifetime of the tank and enable the use of composites in this critical application with low risk to mission success. In Phase I, the feasibility of self-healing structural composites and adhesives was demonstrated by incorporating micron-scale microencapsulated healing agents and chemical catalysts in composite systems and integrating the technology into standard composites manufacturing techniques. In Phase II we will refine this process and demonstrate prototype self-healing adhesives and aerospace composite structural components. A partnership between CU Aerospace (CUA) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has been formed to pursue the aerospace applications of this new technology. Together, we will demonstrate the technology for recovery of mechanical damage and permeability under both static and cyclic fatigue conditions. This technology is critical not only to STSS, ABL and a variety of other Air Force mission objectives, but is fundamental to all aerospace structural composite applications.