Abstract
For the first time, a porous mesh of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was electrospun directly onto carbon fiber (CF) plies and used to develop novel structural epoxy (EP) composites with electro-activated self-healing properties. Three samples, i.e., the neat EP/CF composite and two laminates containing a limited amount of PCL (i.e., 5 wt.% and 10 wt.%), were prepared and characterized from a microstructural and thermo-mechanical point of view. The introduction of the PCL mesh led to a reduction in the flexural stress at break (by 17%), of the interlaminar shear strength (by 15%), and of the interlaminar shear strength (by 39%). The interlaminar fracture toughness of the prepared laminates was evaluated under mode I, and broken samples were thermally mended at 80 °C (i.e., above the melting temperature of PCL) by resistive heating generated by a current flow within the samples through Joule’s effect. It was demonstrated that, thanks to the presence of the electrospun PCL mesh, the laminate with a PCL of 10 wt.% showed healing efficiency values up to 31%.
Highlights
Polymer composites emerged in the middle of the twentieth century as a promising class of engineering materials, providing new perspectives for structural applications [1]
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TSaEbMlem8.icrographs were taken on the crack propagation surfaces of virgin and healed samples to analyze the morphology of the PCL mesh before and after the mending process
Summary
Polymer composites emerged in the middle of the twentieth century as a promising class of engineering materials, providing new perspectives for structural applications [1]. The ease of manufacturing, design flexibility, lightweight, high strength, low maintenance, elevated durability, lack of corrosion, and multifunctionality are examples of additional assets that can be attributed to this class of materials [2,3]. Despite all these advantages, the monitoring and prediction of composites life span still represents a major problem [4]. The microcracks growing in the bulk of the composite structures are difficult to be detected and repaired For this reason, the interest towards multifunctional FRPs with self-healing capability has increased in the last years [7]
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