Continuum Damage-Healing Mechanics with Introduction to New Healing Variables

In this study, damage and healing mechanisms are discussed in detail with special emphasis given on two new healing variables. They are introduced in terms of healing variable based on area and healing variable based on elastic stiffness. The main objective of the introduced healing variables is to formulate the mechanical behavior of the self-healing materials and compensate the lack of physically consistent healing variables. Different healing mechanisms, existing in current self-healing systems, are characterized and for a uniaxial case of loading and isotropic material, the scalar healing variables are proposed. The performance of these new healing variables is examined for different damage-healing processes as well as coupled and uncoupled healing systems. The state of damage and healing is assumed to be isotropic for both damaged and healed states. The results show consistency with the basic concepts of the continuum damage mechanics in which introduced healing variables facilitate the self-healing materials characterization.