Self-healing fiber-reinforced polymer composites

Self-healing is receiving an increasing amount of interest worldwide as a method to address damage in materials. In particular, for advanced high-performance fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials, self-healing offers an alternative to employing conservative damage-tolerant designs and a mechanism for ameliorating inaccessible and invidious internal damage within a structure. This article considers in some detail the various self-healing technologies currently being developed for FRP composite materials. Key constraints for incorporating such a function in FRPs are that it not be detrimental to inherent mechanical properties and that it not impose a severe weight penalty.