Invited Seminar by Dr. Simon Hayes (University of Sheffield)- Composite Heal Thyself!

Engineering Link: http://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/events/20170515-1400/invited-seminar-dr-simon-hayes-department-multidisciplinary-engineering 

Self-sensing, self-healing and self-cure of composites are all technologies that employ characteristics of the composite such as resin chemistry and conductivity of the fibres to enable the composite to respond in the desired way.

1. In self-healing we try to make the composite able to initiate repair.
2. In self-sensing the composite provides its own damage detection and/or chemical condition monitoring system without the need for embedded sensors.
3. In self-cure we use the properties of the composite to initiate and sustain cure cycles without the need for ovens and autoclaves.

If we can combine these technologies to produce a material that monitors its own cure cycle, chemical condition and mechanical performance before it heals itself when damage occurs, I would contend that this would be a truly smart material. In this talk, I will describe solutions to each of these aspirations, and show how we can move towards a composite that is in many ways self-sufficient throughout its life from cradle to grave.