Promising functionalities of the HARVEST laminated composite!

One of the many objectives of WP5 was to evaluate the repair efficiency of the 3R epoxy matrix used for the manufacture of the HARVEST composite.

The 3R epoxy matrix has the particularity of being able to be reprocessed, repaired and recycled thanks to the dynamic crosslinks.

 

Since 3R epoxy resins contain such reversible crosslinks, they have interesting characteristics such as rapid stress relaxation and a certain reprocessability.

 

Reprocessing experiments of conventional epoxy resin sample and 3R epoxy resin specimens

In HARVEST, we have focused on studying the reparability of the composites, and indeed, promising results have been achieved. The reparability has been carried out by applying pressure and heat to those areas where delamination has been found. How has the reparability of these failures been assessed? Firstly, the failed areas were identified by non-destructive testing, then the repair cycle was applied and finally the repairability was reassessed by non-destructive and mechanical testing.

This work has been carried out thanks to the collaboration and efforts of the University of Ioannina (UOI), IVW and CIDETEC. Well done team!