Abstract
The present paper is focused on evaluating the mechanical characterization of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (ENB) healing systems synthetized by in-situ polymerisation. Both healing systems were embedded in glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite and subjected to three-point bending test regime. Microstructural and FT-IR analysis showed the formation of microcapsules and a successful integration in the composite material. To observe the influence of temperature variation, some specimens were exposed to thermal cycling (-20oC to +100oC) for 12 hours and tested in the same conditions. It was observed that the addition of microcapsules in the composite material decreased its mechanical properties by 8% and 10% for DCPD system and ENB system respectively. Thermal cycling suggested a drop of 24% on bending strength for DCPD system and 17% for ENB. Resting after 24 hours showed a healing recovery of 74% for DCPD healing system and of 97% for ENB system.
Keywords: Self-healing; GFRP composite; Mechanical test; Dicyclopentadiene; 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene