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Self-Healing System Applied to Aviation
ScienceDaily is reporting that the self-healing materials are being used in some new aircraft designs. We covered several self-healing systems in the past months, but it is nice to see it starting to find practical applications. "This simple but ingenious technique, similar to the bruising and bleeding/healing processes we see after we cut ourselves, has been developed by aerospace engineers at Bristol University, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It has potential to be applied wherever fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are used. These lightweight, high-performance materials are proving increasingly popular not only in aircraft but also in car, wind turbine and even spacecraft manufacture. The new self-repair system could therefore have an impact in all these fields."
So long as they came with their handy dandy bipedal humanoid repair agents...
Since I am far from an expert on the subject... what are the chances this same technology could be applied to prosthetics? If that were doable, I think it'd be an excellent market for allowing people to use prosthetics and be able to do more rigorous physical work.
Might cut down on the profits of companies that make prosthetics, though, if the things just fix themselves instead of needing to be replaced. :)
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I for one welcome our flying Terminator overlords.
we can kill it.
The plane will heal itself after a crash. Great for the plane, not so much for the passengers.
There are some things already implemented similar to this. At least in concept. Many helicopters are getting new fuel tanks made of special plastics (I'm not really sure) that seal themselves when you shoot a bullet through them so there is little or no leakage. Also there are chromate conversion coatings that allow scratches but over time will repair to be almost like new.
In before Terminator jokes.
Also, I wonder when this will become cost effective for cars. I suspect it's going to be a long time before (cost of self-healing frame) - (cost of normal frame) < (cost to repair normal frame). That being said, this is going to be a fantastic option for a lot of industrial applications.
How much weight does this system add vis-a-vis the use of non-composite materials? If you use a system that weighs more than the corresponding non-composite system, you won't gain anything by using the composites in the first place...
I'm no engineer, but wouldn't the use of new self-healing polymers be inferior to a mechanical failsafe or backups. If damage is done to an aircraft, the component of the structure that was carefully designed for a specific use is compromised. When under intense air pressure, self healing doesn't seem to make the cut. Wounds don't heal when aggravated, and bones have been known to heal badly (which could translate to a greater problem). If there is a new "healing" system that is to be used, I think it's a long way down the road before we see them implemented in commercial/military aircraft.
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self sealing fuel tanks.
I think this is great. Imagine the day when every component of machinery is self-healing. Machines will have skin, bones, circulatory systems, and yes, brains. With each new technology, we're recreating/modifying nature and ourselves.
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healing processes we see after we cut ourselves,
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...Reading that as "self-hating system" and thinking it was a good idea, though probably "self-loathing" would do.
This self-healing mechanism essentially injects new polymer into the crack thus reseating the fiber within the polymer, sealing the polymer dislocations, and restoring the polymer's ability to transfer load between fibers. The dye to indicate a failure is to catch an inspector's attention just in case the stresses exceeded the fiber's breaking strength (e.g. from a rock or birdstrike). The presence of the dye does not in itself indicate the part is now substantially weaker than a new part (aside from the self-repair mechanism being used up).
Yes, the "healing" polymer is probably not as strong as the original polymer. But because of the nature of the failure mechanisms I've described above, any FRP already has plenty of leeway for polymer failure built into it. If it didn't, the material would be incredibly susceptible to fatigue failure after just a few load cycles.
what if the plane "self-heals" itself into a brick?
If it bleeds, we can kill it!
I envision lots of FAA inspectors looking at a lot of half healed parts by the crater, instead of parts not healed at all.
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The article does not say that the technique is being used in any designs. It says:
"The new self-repair technique developed by the current EPSRC-funded project could be available for commercial use within around four years."
It's a nice sounding lab exercise, but it's not being used in any new designs, and won't be for a few years, if ever.
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Not to be an ass but haven't these overlord jokes gone too far?
The healing is at a micro level (ie fixing tiny stress cracks in the material). THis wouldnot fix bullet holes.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
In the 1980's was just lowly 2nd LT in the Air Force and one of my many duties was to tow targets for AAA crews. This time it was pulling targets for the Sargent York Anti-Aircraft system and during one runs the Sargent York AA system start hitting my F-5 rather the tow target. My F-5 was damaged but was barely airworthy and I got the F-5 on a backup runway near the test site. This was my closest time I ever needed to pull the ejection handle in my life and I was other combat operations after this. I wished I had this self-healing aircraft at that time.
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Remember that this technique involves filling what would otherwise be hollow fibers with resin and hardener. Therefore, while the healing might be advantageous, this material MUST, by definition, weigh more than the same composite without the added liquids, and does not add to the normal strength of the material.
I would want to see comparative tests, with materials of THE SAME MASS... which means the unfilled composites would be thicker or denser. THEN compare whether the "healing" really gains anything, vs. the control which would be significantly stronger in the first place, pound for pound.
If it does not break to start with, it does not need healing!
Somebody show me meaningful numbers. Until then I am far from convinced.
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This isn't self healing any more than a scab represents a healed wound. When aircraft wings bleed nano-agents that reweave the carbon fibres, then I'll call the system self-healing. Until then, label it correctly. Self-patching, or even more correctly, damage-mitigating materials or design.
I , for one, welcome are new overused overlord jokes overlords.
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