Self-healing wire and cable insulation

摘要

Wire and cable failures are major maintenance and safety problems for many engineering systems.These problems are particularly acute in aerospace vehicles and systems.This paper will present results from an effort aimed at developing wire and cable insulations that can autonomously repair themselves after suffering from damage.A variety of potential self-healing technologies have been identified.These include vascular two-part systems,microencapsulated and state changing polymers,gels,expanding foams and pre-compressed foams.Benchtop experiments have confirmed the self-healing action and capability of these various techniques.However,the requirements of being able to meet the stringent performance requirements of aerospace applications in terms of temperature range,weight,outgassing,moisture tolerance,arc-tracking,etc.severely limits the range of possible material choices.Additional restrictions come in the form of manufacturability.The most viable methods in terms of potential for flight certification and cost-effective manufacture have been identified and will be presented.