Numerical analysis of self-healing composite materials

For manufacturing of long life and sustainable materials, self-healing composites are an emerging concept. Mixing of resin with microcapsules containing healing agent is the best way to achieve this purpose. Curing of composites during thermal cycle leads to rise in temperature at core due to entrapment of heat of reaction and it may cause degradation of mixed capsules. In the present work thermal stability of microcapsules during fabrication of unidirectional thermoset carbon/epoxy self-healing composite is studied. For this purpose heat transfer coupled with cure kinetics and structural mechanics equation are solved using finite element methods. Analysis of samples, having thickness in the range 2mm-60mm, provides the information if capsules in the composite degrade as well as the quantity of degraded capsules.