Healing Polymer Materials from the Inside Out (10 of 15) (IMAGE)
Caption
Time sequence of overhead images of an impact-damaged specimen undergoing the restoration process. Starting with an empty damage volume (top left), the restorative process begins with delivery of material through two isolated fluid streams (dyed red and blue) that infiltrate the cracks and wet the inner surface of the damage. The fluid quickly transitions to a gel, which acts as a scaffold for the continuing delivery of restorative materials. After the damage volume has been completely recovered (bottom right), the gel undergoes another transition to a rigid, structural solid, completing the restoration process and returning the damaged material to its original function. This image is immediately after starting delivery of fluid streams. This image relates to a paper that appeared in May 9, 2014, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Scott White at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Ill., and colleagues was titled, "Restoration of Large Damage Volumes in Polymers."
Credit
[Credit: Nathan Bajandas, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois]
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