Enhancement of the Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber Sandwich Structures Using Self-Healing Mechanism

Abstract The interest of researchers to study self-healing materials has been increased as a result of their high ability in detecting and healing the occurred cracks and voids. Previous studies revealed that when a self-healing material is cracked due to thermal, mechanical or ballistic means, it has the ability to fully or partially self-heal the occurred crack and restore the material to its original functionality. Self-healing materials can be made from metals, polymers, ceramics and their composites. The main objective of this paper is to examine the effect of adding self-healing agents to carbon fiber composite sandwich structures. The mechanical behavior of the self-healing material was compared to the virgin material using the finite element method, where great variations in the mechanical properties were noted. By using the self-healing mechanism, an enhancement in carbon fiber composite material strength was attained.