Assessment of self-healing polymer technology for utility overhead applications

Recent studies in the polymer and polymer-composite literature have focused on technology to facilitate self-healing of epoxy polymers that crack on aging, for which no outside intervention is necessary. The self-healing process is referred to as autonomic healing. The concept of self-healing is not new, but healing without the necessity of outside action to facilitate the process is novel. The state of the technology as of the time of this study is reviewed, and the suitability for utility applications is the focus of this paper.