Self healing surfaces
SPP Design and Generic Principles of Self-Healing Materials – Knowledge based design of crack and erosion damage healing nanolaminates
Self-healing materials facilitate a design concept based on intrinsic damage management, whereby damage during operation, more specifically during load applications, can be healed by the material itself.
Figure 1: Cryogenic break of a Cr2AlC MAX phase deposited by High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS)
Nanolaminated Mn+1AXn phases such as Ti3AlC2, Ti2AlC and Cr2AlC (figure 1), which combine metallic and ceramic properties, show such self-healing behaviour. At high temperatures cracks are filled by oxidation products of the M and A elements.
Until now the underlying physical and material processes related to self-healing materials have not been completely captured. Therefore, the goal of this project is to obtain an understanding of the controlling mechanisms.
Contact persons
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Leyens
Project partner
- RWTH Aachen, Chair of Materials Chemistry, Prof. Schneider
- Delft University of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Prof. Sloof