Recovery and improvement in low-velocity impact properties of e-glass/epoxy composites through novel self-healing technique

We report the recovery and improvement in low-velocity impact properties of e-glass/epoxy composites achieved through embedding self-healing agent (SHA) filled hollow glass fibers (HGFs). At first, catalytic technique was used to fill bonded HGFs with SHA. The HGFs were then laid on e-glass fibers and the laminates were fabricated using vacuum assisted resin infusion molding (VARIM) process. Low-velocity impact tests at two different energy levels were conducted multiple times in the closest proximity to determine the healing efficiency. Results showed significant improvement and recovery in impact properties with 53.6% gain in peak load after second impact in SHA filled HGFs samples in comparison to control samples. A significant gain in energy to peak load was also found in SHA filled samples with 86.6% improvement over control samples. Optical microscopy images of SHA filled HGFs samples showed filling of cracks developed after impact. A distinct damage behavior was observed in control and HGFs embedded samples.