A chemo-mechanically coupled model for capsule-based self-healing polymer materials

In this paper, a chemo-mechanically coupled model for capsule-based self-healing polymer materials has been proposed within a thermodynamic consistent framework. Elasto-plastic deformation, mechanical deterioration due to plastic damage and recovery resulting from the release of healing agents are all considered. By introducing a variable representing the extent of chemical reaction associated with healing agents, we are able to describe the healing behavior of self-healing materials from chemical kinetics. The Helmholtz free energy function and the evolution equations for the damage and the healing processes are specified. The proposed model offers a novel viewpoint to the establishment of damage-healing models by incorporating chemo-mechanical couplings. Taking the dicyclopentadiene-filled microcapsules and Grubbs' catalyst-embedded self-healing epoxy matrix composite as an example, we discuss the effects of temperature, loading conditions, and initial damage on the evolution of damage-healing and the mechanical performance of self-healing materials.