Self-Healing Materials for Mitigation of Blast Damage
Pis: N.R. Sottos, S.R. White
Purpose/Relevance:
Student: J. Patrick
To develop self-healing materials capable of autonomous
protection and recovery from blast induced damage.
Innovation:
- Extension of self-healing technology with seamless integration into state-of-the-art
composite structural systems.
- New self-healing materials development for blast damage.
This Year’s outcome:
- Demonstration of self-healing in microvascular PUR foam for sandwich panel core
materials
- Development of vascularized 3D woven fiber-reinforced composite
Long-range impact:
New class of self-healing materials developed with specific
emphasis on high-energy absorption capabilities for blast infrastructure.
Next Year:
System optimization through experimental evaluation. Structural sandwich
panel integration. Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Progress to Date:
Self-Healing Foam Core for Structural Sandwich Panels
3D Woven Composite
Sandwich Structure (3TEX)
Microvascular Healing
Recovery of Mode I Fracture Toughness
Polyurethane (PUR) foam
core material
Progress to Date:
Self-Healing 3D Woven Composite Face Sheets
3D Woven Composite
Sandwich Structure (3TEX)
3D Woven Preform
“Sacrificial” fibers
woven into 3D preform
Delivery of healing fluids
Composite fabricated
via VARTM
Fiber evacuation
by heating
Research Plan
• Optimize PUR
evaluation
foam
healing
system
through
experimental
• Develop a protocol to damage and heal the woven composite face
sheets, e.g. End Notched Flexure (ENF) or Compression after
Impact (CAI)
• Demonstrate recovery of mechanical properties in woven fiberreinforced composites and measure healing efficiency
• Begin integration of self-healing of core and face sheet
components into structural composite sandwich panel for
eventual blast evaluation
Self-Healing Materials for Mitigation of Blast Damage
Prof. Nancy Sottos, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
 Current Ph.D. student: Jason Patrick
 Papers/Patents/Presentations:
 “Three-Dimensional Microvascular Fiber-Reinforced Composites”,
submitted for publication (2011).
 “A Method for Preparation of Three-Dimensional Microvascular
Fiber-Reinforced Composites” University of Illinois Invention
Disclosure (2011)
 Collaboration with Industry: Collaborated with 3-Tex on
manufacture of 3-D woven composite face sheets with sacrificial
fibers to create microvascular networks for healing.
 Picture:
Sacrificial fibers woven into Microvascular composite
3D glass preform (3TEX)
capable of fluid transport