Self-healing materials for space applications: overview of present development and major limitations

In the last decade, self-healing materials have become extremely appealing for the field of space applications, due to their technological evolution and the consequent possibility of designing space systems and structures able to repair autonomously after damage arising from impacts with micrometeor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CEAS space journal 2021-07, Vol.13 (3), p.341-352
Main Authors: Pernigoni, Laura, Lafont, Ugo, Grande, Antonio Mattia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerospace environments
Aerospace Technology and Astronautics
Aging (materials)
Engineering
Impact damage
Manned Mars missions
Mars exploration
Materials fatigue
Micrometeoroids
Moon
Original Paper
Self healing materials
Space applications
Space debris
Space exploration
Spacecraft design
Spacecraft reliability
Spacecraft structures
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Summary:In the last decade, self-healing materials have become extremely appealing for the field of space applications, due to their technological evolution and the consequent possibility of designing space systems and structures able to repair autonomously after damage arising from impacts with micrometeoroids and orbital debris, from accidental contact with sharp objects, from structural fatigue or simply due to material aging. The integration of these novel materials in the design of spacecraft structures would result in increased reliability and safety leading to longer operational life and missions. Such concepts will bring a decisive boost enabling new mission scenario for the establishment of new orbital stations, settlement on the Moon and human exploration of Mars. The proposed review aims at presenting the newest and most promising self-healing materials and associated technologies for space application, along with the issues related to their current technological limitations in combination with the effect of the space environment. An introductory part about the outlooks and challenges of space exploration and the self-healing concept is followed by a brief description of the space environment and its possible effects on the performance of materials. Self-healing materials are then analysed in detail, moving from the general intrinsic and extrinsic categories down to the specific mechanisms.
ISSN:1868-2502
1868-2510
DOI:10.1007/s12567-021-00365-5