Seminar Speaker: Dr. Jason Patrick, NC State CCEE

Speaker Dr. Jason Patrick, NC State CCEE

Title “Sustained Self-healing of Woven Fiber-Composite Laminates via In Situ Thermal Remending”

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are attractive structural materials due to their high specific strength/stiffness and excellent corrosion resistance. However, the lack of through-thickness reinforcement in laminated 2D woven composites creates inherent susceptibility to fiber-matrix debonding (i.e., interlaminar delamination). This damage model has proven difficult to detect and nearly impossible to repair via conventional methods and remains a significant factor limiting the reliability of laminated composites in lightweight structures. 

In this talk, I will detail the development of an intrinsic self-healing composite based on thermally induced dynamic bond reassociation of 3D printed polymer interlayers. In contrast to prior studies, self-repair of delamination occurs in situ and below the glass transition temperature of the epoxy matrix, thereby maintaining elastic modulus during healing. Rapid (minute-scale) and consecutive (100) self-healing cycles have been achieved with fracture recovery reaching 100% of the interlayer toughened composite. The unprecedented lifetime extension offered by this self-healing system mitigates costly maintenance, facilitates repair of difficult-to-access structures (e.g., wind-turbine blades), and reduces part replacement, thereby benefiting the economy and environment. Since our composite platform is scalable and industry-transferable,  these multifunctional materials are well-poised to produce smart infrastructure across many fields. 

Jason Patrick is a leading researcher within the field of self-healing and multifunctional materials. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering with a courtesy appointment in Mechanical and Aerospace  Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU). He is an NC  State alumnus (B.S. & M.S.) and obtained his Ph.D. degree from the  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He received a Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific research (AFOSR) and serves on the Early Career Editorial Board for Multifunctional Materials. Jason holds a patent on thermally degradable polymeric fibers and continues to strive for industrial translation of his research to improve the resilience and sustainability of modern composite infrastructure.