Dear Colleagues,

Composite materials are increasingly employed in many areas, not only in high-tech applications but also in the energy sector, transport industry, building sector, up to the manufacturing of many objects used in daily life, mainly because of their high strength-to-weight ratio, easy formability, and relatively low costs. However, composites are subjected to internal microscopic damage occurring during the manufacturing process (i.e., caused by thermal stresses), machining (i.e., while drilling holes for bolted joints), components assembly, or, ultimately, in-service loading. The incorporation of an in-situ repair solution that can be activated after each of the above processes may efficiently reduce composite components scrappage rates and post-manufacture and other repairs and, simultaneously, increase the period of time before non-destructive testing inspection. By utilizing specific thermo-reversible (cross)-linking chemistry that can achieve multiple repair/healing cycles, any damage generated throughout a component life cycle can be repaired, and its service life extended; also, complete recycling of fibers and resins may become possible. The embedded reversible chemistry can be activated post-damage to repair the internal structure, akin to the healing processes characteristic of animals and plants. This is a real benefit to the industry because it promotes the optimization of composite manufacturing by reducing both post-manufacture inspection time and material wastage costs, while also maximizing the lifetime of the composite components in service and introducing a true recycling possibility through the recovery of the binder material system and of the reinforcing fibers.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences on “Thermo-Reversible Self-Healing Composites” aims to attract contributions covering all areas of the subject, ranging from material system design and synthesis, to manufacturing, testing, and recycling of such systems. Papers dealing with all aspects of the topic are welcome. 

Dr. Hartmut R. Fischer
Guest Editor

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• recycling of composites
• thermo-reversible chemistry
• intrinsic self-repair of composites