Simulation of the mechanical behavior of self-healing composite materials

Purpose The purpose of this study is the investigation of self-healing materials containing encapsulated healing agents embedded in a polymer matrix with dispersed catalysts. In recent years, the high performance and design flexibility of composite materials have led to their widespread use in the aeronautics, space, automotive and marine fields. Simultaneously, as the need for advanced material properties has increased, many studies have been conducted on multifunctional materials, focusing on different fields of their desired capabilities. Design/methodology/approach A multiscale model was developed to simulate the effect of microcapsules on the mechanical behavior of the polymer matrix. Furthermore, the effects of microcapsule diameter and microcapsule concentration on the mechanical behavior of the composite were studied. Digimat and Ansys software were used to simulate the self-healing composites. Findings There is a trade-off between the efficiency of the microcapsules and the degradation of the properties of the composite material. Originality/value The generated model simulated an encapsulated healing agent in a polymeric matrix.