Plastic, Heal Thyself
Kirt's Cogitations™ #146

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Plastic, Heal Thyself

Modeled after the way the human body heals itself, a new breed of plastics is on the horizon that can not only heal micro-cracks, but prevent the propagation of a crack in progress. Headed by a team at the U. of Illinois, the self-healing plastics incorporate small capsules that release a healing agent when a crack forms. The agent travels to the break through small capillaries that simulate how blood flows to a wound. Polymerization is triggered automatically when the healing agent makes contact with a catalyst embedded in the plastic. The reaction forms a polymer to repair the broken edges of the material. The rounded capsules act as stress relief points to arrest crack propagation.