Alexandria Engineering Journal (2022) 61, 2769–2774

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Alexandria University

Alexandria Engineering Journal

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Effect of fiber bridging in composites healing

M. Elhadary, A. Hamdy, W. Shaker

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Received 10 April 2021; revised 21 July 2021; accepted 1 August 2021

Available online 13 August 2021

KEYWORDS Abstract Extrinsic non-autonomic self-healing of composite material is elucidated in two cases of
Bridging; crack, one of them has bridging phenomena which has been created during sample formation and
Healing; the other has normal crack without bridging. Experiments for mode I composite fracture failure was
Glass fiber; carried out on a double cantilever beam (DCB) specimen. An open wooden mould technique was
Composites; used to manufacture the test specimen which was made of unidirectional E-glass fiber and polyester
Delamination; resin. In both cases, healing required some form of manual intervention, with the healing agent
Fracture toughness being manually catalysed and then injected into the delamination. Before and after healing, an
experimental study of the function of fibre bridging was conducted. Before and after the healing
process, samples with and without bridging were compared. The average healing efficiency of
non-bridging specimens is 101%, with a maximum healing efficiency of 113.5%, while the average
healing efficiency of bridging specimens is 112.4%, with a maximum healing efficiency of 132.6%.
The results show the great role of crossing fiber in bridging cases, which increases the efficiency
of crack healing, so the transcendence of bridging healing is obvious.
Ó 2021 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria
University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
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1. Introduction Fiber bridging happens when a crack travels from one

fiber/matrix interface to another, leaving an unbroken fibre
These days composites are being used in many key engineering behind to switch the crack, as seen in Fig. 1. Due to the fibre
fields, ranging from electronics, and space applications to agri- bridging effect, it was discovered that increasing the delamina-
culture equipment. Due to the dependency on manufacturing tion duration in laminated DCB specimens increases the criti-
of more important components from composites, an important cal strain energy release rate. A resistance curve, also known as
financial issue arose to the surface concerning the replace an R-curve, is used to precisely explain this phenomenon [1].
rather repair policy. Delamination has been one of the most The possible sources of fibre bridging include, but are not
common forms of damage in laminated fibre reinforced com- limited to, nesting of adjacent layers in unidirectional lami-
posites due to their relatively low interlaminar strengths. Dur- nates, poor interfaces, extended crack tip area, wide fraction
ing manufacturing, transport, mounting and service, of fibre volume, and branch cracking in angle laminates. The
delamination can form during any time of these processes. amount of fibre bridging on laminates is also affected by void
density and heat resistance [2].
Internal or invisible micro-cracks have not been success-
fully repaired using (Traditional repair methods). As a result,
Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria new techniques such as hardened resin, thermoplastic
University.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2021.08.002
1110-0168 Ó 2021 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
2770 M. Elhadary et al.

Delamination without bridging Delamination with bridging

Fig. 1 Delaminated specimens with and without bridging.

interleaving, and reinforcement by 3D weaving and pinning studied experimentally. It was discovered that the length of
have emerged to prevent the initiation and growth of delami- the bridging zone is the same for all forms [8].
nation cracks in polymer composites. While these techniques The R-curves depend on the specimen geometry, so the
have been modified to prevent the initiation of delamination steady state bridging zone increases with the thickness, accord-
cracks, the cracks continue to expand unabated until they col- ing to the measurement results in mode I for the fracture
lapse. In general, there are many forms of healing mechanisms behavior of DCB-type samples made of GFRP [9].
that are called self-healing. The effect of sample thickness on traction–separation
The only self-healing technique currently considered is the behavior in the bridging area was determined using a repeat-
recovery of mechanical strength by crack healing. However, able process. The bridging traction at the crack tip and the
there are other instances where not only cracks, but also small crack opening displacement at the end of the bridging region
pinholes can be filled and healed to improve results. The fol- tend to be independent of specimen thickness, according to
lowing are the different techniques for designing self-healing the findings [10].
materials: By removing the effect of ply orientation remotely during
the initial delamination and propagation, the function of the

The release of a healing agent fibre angle interface in the bridging traction behavior of

Cross-links that can be reversed DCB was investigated [11] The calculated bridging laws for

A variety of technologies (electro hydrodynamic, conduc- DCB samples with different interface angles have a nonlinear
tivity, shape memory Effect, and nanoparticle migration pattern when compared to ICTOD, according to the experi-
and co-deposition). mental results. Furthermore, increasing the interface fibre

Self-healing can be broken down into two categories: angle increases the overall bridging tension on the first crack

Autonomic (no human interference required); non- edge.
autonomic (external triggering required) [3]. A systematic analysis of fibre bridging literature studies was
presented. The roots of fibre bridging, as well as bridging rules,
Extrinsically and intrinsically self-repairing materials are have been explained. There was a discussion about exploratory
two subclasses of self-healing materials that are used to char- investigations and simulation of delamination with fibre bridg-
acterize their self-healing properties [4]. The distinction ing [2].
between extrinsic and intrinsic materials is that in extrinsic The possibility of discovering polymer matrix compounds
healing, healing agents are used to help in the repair of a struc- capable of fixing internal cracks caused by mechanical loading
ture, while in intrinsic healing, the substance restores itself. was investigated. It focuses on the cracking of hollow repair
Many researchers have investigated the effects of key fibres dispersed across the matrix, as well as the timely release
parameters such as beam thickness, the initial length of the of repair chemicals that resulted in the closure of matrix
crack and the stack sequence in the R-curve behavior of the cracks, the restoration of strength in damaged areas, and the
composite materials, whereas others have attempted to charac- ability to delay crack spread [12].
terize delamination behavior. On woven E-glass/epoxy composites, a delamination dam-
The start-up and distribution values of the fracture tough- age healing study was carried out. There are two forms of heal-
ness of DCB samples to their interface fibre angles, as well as ing procedures that were investigated for the final purpose of
the sequence of the upper and lower arms of the beams, have self-healing. The catalysed monomer is first manually intro-
all been investigated. It was discovered that as the orientation duced into the delamination process. The second method
of the internal cracking was changed from 0° to 90°, the involves embedding the self-activated material directly into
strength of the internal cracking increased [5,6]. the composite matrix and manually injecting the monomer.
A fibre bridging model was developed to assess the effects When the catalysed monomer is added, healing efficiencies
of bridging on Mode I delamination fatigue fracture in a car- associated with virgin fracture toughness of up to 67%are iden-
bon fibre polymer–matrix composite. Fiber bridging had a tified, compared to approximately 19 %for the self-activated
major effect on crack propagation speeds, according to content [13].
experimental evidence from fatigue crack propagation experi- The self-healing principle of polymeric composite materials
ments [7]. has been recapped, and fracture mechanics problems related to
The effect of different lay-ups DCB specimens with a 0°//0° the optimization and growth of this new type of material have
interface on the R-curve behavior of such laminate has been been investigated [14].
Effect of fiber bridging in composites healing 2771

It was demonstrated a self-healing fibre reinforced polymer moulding technique in accordance with ASTM D 5528-01.
matrix composite material. A microencapsulated healing agent The laminates were clamped closed to the necessary thickness
and a solid chemical catalyst are distributed throughout the and allowed to cure for a week at room temperature. Finally,
polymer matrix process. Healing occurs as a crack spreads the DCB specimens have the following geometric characteris-
through microcapsules, releasing the healing agent into the tics: width b = 25 mm, length L = 125 mm, and total thick-
broken plane. The healing efficiency, as determined by the ness 2 h = 5 mm. To apply the loads, two 20  20  25 mm
recovery of interlaminar fracture toughness, was found to be steel loading blocks were glued onto each specimen’s end with
approximately 38% on average, and by raising the healing tem- a rapid two-component epoxy adhesive, as shown in Fig. 2.
perature to 80 °C, the healing efficiency increased to 66%on The delamination growth was monitored using a digital cam-
average, with a maximum of 80%[15]. The numerous methods era with a pixel resolution of 3300  4200 and a 12-
and techniques for self-healing were summarized, and future megapixel sensor; all specimens had a fibre volume fraction
developments in the developing field were discussed. In gen- (Vf) of 55 to 65%.
eral, there are three phases of Strategies: embedded liquid
repair agent healing, solid phase healing, and projectile punc- 2.2. Testing procedure
ture healing. [16].
As previous studies have shown, there is a lack of research Using a universal testing machine, five specimens for each type
on the impact of healing on bridging phenomena, so this study were tested (Mecmesin Multitest 5-xt) as illustrated in Fig. 3,
attempts to demonstrate the effect of bridging phenomena on which available to cover the range from 2 N up to 5 kN. All
healing. The main goal of this study is to see whether extrinsic experiments were carried out under displacement control at a
healing of fibre bridging influences delamination resistance, rate of 1 mm/min. During crack initiation and propagation,
and if so, what kind of effect it has, by comparing healing of two parameters are reported simultaneously by the testing
delamination with and without bridging. machine: crosshead displacement (d) and load (P). Table 1
shows how the samples were divided into four groups.
2. Experimental procedures First type (without bridging type) (N) of samples was tested
monotonically, the specimen was loaded until the crack open-
2.1. DCB specimens materials and manufacturing ing length reaches 15 mm then Second type of samples (bridg-
ing samples) (B) was tested also on the same way the load and
Two types of composite plates with stacking sequences of [(0)6] the crack opening displacement were recorded throughout the
were made using 640 g/m2 areal density unidirectional E-glass test using Mecmesin Multitest 5-xt a comparison was made
fibre and SIROPOL 8330 polyester resin. To trigger an initial between (N) type and (B) type. Fig. 4 illustrates the difference
crack length in the first type, a 20 mm thick/50 mm thin Teflon between two types.
film was thrust in the mid plane of each plate. In the second After first test conducted, the crack has propagated along
type, we apply a 5 mm wide thin teflon film to the second layer the mid-plane where the Teflon inserted, the specimen is
to start bridging. The test specimen is manufactured using an unloaded and opened again by clamps to inject by the healing
open wooden mould and a hand lay-up and compression agent (polyester resin is manually catalyzed) with a syringe

Fig. 2 Testing specimen with loading block.

2772 M. Elhadary et al.

Fig. 7 Load – Crack opening displacement for bridging and

Fig. 3 Testing machine. non-bridging specimens.

repeated with the same conditions. The difference in the spec-

Table 1 Specimens’ symbols. imen before and after the test is shown in Fig. 6.
The matrix was totally cured, according to DSC measure-
Specimen type Symbol
ments performed on the post-cured composites for both used
Sample without bridging N in specimens and which injected by syringe in healing process.
Bridging sample B
Healed sample without bridging NH
2.3. Experimental results
Healed –Bridging sample BH

Normal and bridging specimens were tested monotonically

under the same condition. Fig. 7. illustrates the increasing load
into the delamination in each type, as indicated in Fig. 5 value versus crack opening displacement d. The loads were cal-
clamped closed and left to heal for four days then the tests culated as the average of five test specimens. Bridging speci-

Fig. 4 Specimens’ preparation (a) without bridging, (b) with bridging.

Fig. 5 Extrinsic non-autonomic self-healing process.

Fig. 6 Specimen before and after test.

Effect of fiber bridging in composites healing 2773

is 133%. This indicates how much the effect of bridging on

specimens carrying loads.
Fig. 8 illustrates the loading curves for the non-bridging (N)
and healed specimens (NH). Up until the crack propagation
begins, the action is linear. When the relocation continues,
the crack progresses along the specimen midplane in quick,
unsteady hops and arrests (such as the stick–slip crack
phenomenon), while the curve is stable and constant for healed
specimens (NH). In our healing process trial, the non-bridging
specimens serve as an experimental monitor to provide an indi-
cator of the degree of healing. The load values in the (N) spec-
imens are significantly lower than the load values in the healed
Fig. 8 Load – Crack opening displacement for non-bridging specimens (NH). The initial crack growth launches earlier for
specimens (N) and healed without bridging specimens (NH). the treated specimen (NH) and withstands higher loads.
Healing performance, as described in Eq. (2), is a method of
determining the degree of healing. The capacity of the healed
sample to regain fracture toughness is known as the crack heal-
ing efficiency [18]:

KIChealed
g¼  100% ð2Þ
KICvirgin

The fracture toughness of the virgin specimen is KIC virgin,

and the fracture toughness of the healed specimen is KIC healed.
The percentage of the average of all fracture toughness values
for the healed and virgin specimens in Eq. (3) can be used to
describe the average healing performance of a given specimen.

Average½KIChealed 
gavg ¼ ð3Þ
Average½KICvirgin 
Fig. 9 Load – Crack opening displacement for the bridging (B) while maximum healing efficiency is based on Eq. (4) [15].
and healed bridging (BH) specimens.
Max½KIChealed 
gmax ¼ ð4Þ
Average½KICvirgin 
mens can resist more load than normal specimens [17] discuss According to Eqs. (3) and (4), the healing efficiencies for the
the fatigue effect on bridging and give similar result, which (N) specimens shown in Fig. 8 are gavg = 101% and
emphasis the role of bridging fiber to decrease the crack gmax = 113.5%.
propagation. The behavior of DCB specimen in case of bridging sample
The efficiency of average fracture toughness between bridg- (B) is presented in Fig. 9. It was observed that, the healed
ing and non-bridging types can be calculated as follows: bridging sample (BH) withstands load higher than bridging
KICavgðBÞ sample (B).
g¼ ð1Þ Based on Eqs. (3) and (4), the healing efficiencies for the
KICavgðNÞ
bridging specimens shown in Fig. 9 are gavg = 112.4% and
where KIC avg (B) is the average fracture toughness of the bridg- gmax = 132.6%.
ing specimens, and KIC avg (N) is the average fracture toughness The pervious curves show the difference between the cases
of the specimens without bridging (N) type. According to the under study, so it is noticed that the role of bridging in bridg-
curves in Fig. 6 and Eq. (1) the fracture toughness efficiency ing(B) specimens, they endure higher loads, and after extrinsic

Table 2 Summary of DCB test results (average value ± standard deviation).

Specimen type KICAvg , GPa.m1/2 KICMax: , GPa.m1/2 gavg gmax
Non-bridging (N) 1.06 (0.17) 1.2 (0.31) Average½KICB  Max:½KICB 
g= Average½KICN  g= Average½KICN 
=133% =152.5%
Bridging (B) 1.42 (0.15) 1.63 (0.25)
Healed w/t bridging (NH) 1.08 (0.22) 1.21 (0.19) Average½KICNH  Max:½KICNH 
g= Average½KICN  g= Average½KICN 
=101% =113.5%
Healed bridging (BH) 1.59 (0.20) 1.88 (0.23) Average½KICBH  Max:½KICBH 
g= Average½KICB  g= Average½KICB 
=112.4 =132.6
2774 M. Elhadary et al.

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