fractured fibre-reinforced polymer under UV illumination showing how the ‘healing agent’ bleeds into the damage. (Credit: Image courtesy of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
A safe ride in a Self-healing aircraft! Sounds like something impossible. But actually it’s not. Because, with this new technique, now it’s already possible for manufactures of aircrafts to built up new planes with this interesting ability.
Actually, the secret that stands behind this “magic” is actually the material from which the aircraft’s body is made of - It is a material known as “fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites”. When, somehow, a crack is made at the body of the airplane, the resins stored at the fibres of FRP composites will bleed out into the wound and then, will seal the crack. This is the theory behind the magic of this material.
In addition, FRP composites are lighter than aluminium (the regular material from which the airplanes are made nowadays). Therefore, without any doubt, airplanes made of FRP composites would be much lighter than the current airplanes made of aluminium and therefore it is expected that it would reduce a large amount of plane’s fuel consumption during a flight.
hollow glass fibres embedded in carbon fibre reinforced plastic could be the key to safer flying.
(Credit: Image courtesy of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
Here’s more about Self-healing aircrafts
This simple but ingenious technique, similar to the bruising and bleeding/healing processes we see after we cut ourselves, has been developed by aerospace engineers at Bristol University, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It has potential to be applied wherever fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are used. These lightweight, high-performance materials are proving increasingly popular not only in aircraft but also in car, wind turbine and even spacecraft manufacture. The new self-repair system could therefore have an impact in all these fields.
The technique’s innovative aspect involves filling the hollow glass fibres contained in FRP composites with resin and hardener. If the fibres break, the resin and hardener ooze out, enabling the composite to recover up to 80-90% of its original strength - comfortably allowing a plane to function at its normal operational load.
“This approach can deal with small-scale damage that’s not obvious to the naked eye but which might lead to serious failures in structural integrity if it escapes attention,” says Dr Ian Bond, who has led the project. “It’s intended to complement rather than replace conventional inspection and maintenance routines, which can readily pick up larger-scale damage, caused by a bird strike, for example.”
Loading ...
