Texas A&M and US Army develop material with self-healing capabilities

Army-Technology.com ^

[BenLurkin]

Texas A&M University and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory have developed a family of synthetic materials with self-healing capabilities.

The polymers vary in texture, from ultra-soft to extremely rigid. They can be 3D printed, are recyclable, and stick to each other in air and underwater.

Such materials are expected to fulfil the need of re-configurability in several military applications.

The synthetic polymers comprise long strings of repeating molecular motifs, while the elastomeric polymers exhibit lightly crosslinked chains providing a rubbery feature to the material.

Researchers of the study focused on the molecules involved in the crosslinking.

Initially, they selected a parent polymer and chemically added pre-polymer chains with two types of small crosslinking molecules. The process increased the stiffness of the materials.

Such crosslinks are reversible as crosslinking molecules engage in a type of reversible chemical bonding. This characteristic triggers self-healing capabilities of the materials.

Researchers also noted that the temperatures when the crosslinkers dissociate are nearly same for different stiffness levels. This property is useful for 3D printing.

[ptsal]

from the article

“Their other desirable characteristics, like 3D printability and the ability to self-heal within seconds, make them suited for not just more realistic prosthetics and soft robotics, but also ideal for broad military applications such as agile platforms for air vehicles and futuristic self-healing aircraft wings.”

[centurion316]

You can turn your screen door into a boat, just like the guy on TV

[oldasrocks]

BUT then you will have a house full of skeeters! There is always a downside.

[Night Hides Not]

Aggies could have used that stuff after getting beat by the Zags by 30 last year in College Station...lol. We had no idea at the time my Zags would be that good last year, not with 9 new players on the roster.

Apologies for the thread hijack...the highlight of the evening was that my grandson finally got to meet his favorite player, Killian Tillie, in person. Considering we live 1800 miles from Spokane, opportunities to see them in person are rare.