Effect of the incorporation of a microencapsulated healing agent in an epoxy-amine fiber reinforced composite material

JULIETA GUTIÉRREZ; LUCIANA SÁENZ TIDONE; ARIEL STOCCHI; ROMINA P. OLLIER; VERA ALVAREZ

Advanced Materials Letters

The official journal of the International Association of Advanced Materials

Lugar: Estocolmo; Año: 2017 vol. 8 p. 1065 - 1071

0976-3961

The objective of this work was to study the effect of incorporating a microencapsulated healing agent in an epoxy matrix andE-glass fiber reinforced composite. Microcapsules were prepared via oil-in-water emulsion polymerization method withdicyclopentadiene as core material and poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) as shell material. The suitable formulation for theepoxy matrix was selected based on the study of the rheological and mechanical properties of various chemical systems.Different amounts of microcapsules were incorporated and the most appropriate processing method (mixing, curing and postcuringcycle) was evaluated. Furthermore, flexural and fracture tests were carried out and the distribution of the capsules aswell as the interfacial adhesion with the epoxy matrix were studied. Finally, the processing of fiber reinforced composites,with and without microcapsules, was carried out by compression molding and the mechanical properties of the compositeswere studied (modulus and maximum flexural strain) from testing three-point bending. The resulting samples with 32 wt. %of fibers and matrices with no microcapsules were compared. Compression molding technique did not affect the integrity ofthe microcapsules inside the composites. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press.