Materials 'self-welding'

Aerospace engineers at the University of Bristol in the UK have released a new technique for airplanes to 'masturbate' holes or cracks even in flight.

The plastic flows into the concave fiberglass and 'welds' the holes, forming the colored ribbon (bottom). (Photo: EPSRC)

In addition to the obvious benefits of aircraft safety, this breakthrough also helps to design lighter aircraft in the future, saves fuel, cuts costs and reduces carbon emissions.

A new feature of this technique is the use of composite materials with reinforced fiber (FRP). If a small hole or crevice occurs in the airplane, it means that the fibers are broken, and then the plastic has a special ring structure on the lower pipes that will rust into the glass fibers and quickly solidify, Helps FRP to recover 80% -90% of initial strength, helping the aircraft continue to operate normally.

The dye is mixed into a 'welded plastic' so that subterranean technicians can easily locate the cracks when inspecting the aircraft.

This technique can be applied anywhere using FRP, a lightweight but highly effective material. As FRPs are increasingly popular, not only in aircraft manufacturing but also in automobiles, wind turbines and in spacecraft, new 'self-welding' techniques can be applied in these areas as well. .

The new technique can help with minor damage, which is not obvious to the naked eye, but can lead to serious damage to the structure if not detected early.

The project is only in the early stages and scientists are developing systems that have 'welded plastics' that are not in glass fibers but move around as part of an integrated circuits system like the circulatory system. in the organism.

Such a system can continuously repair a structure throughout its life, while promising to develop other 'biological functions' in man-made devices, such as temperature control or distribution of energy ...