US Army researches self-healing material for autonomous systems
The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has developed a new material that can autonomously heal in air and underwater, with plans now to expand the range of stimuli for the healing process and to boost the material’s ability to heal autonomously, it has told Shephard.
ARL – part of US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – developed the stimuli-responsive polymeric material in collaboration with researchers from Texas A&M.
The 3D-printable material would have the ability to reconfigure itself thanks to a dynamic bond between the ‘repeating units’ in the structure of the polymers, which can be thought of as
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