An extensive review of the repair behavior of smart self-healing polymer matrix composites

Self-healing material is a material that repairs microcracks spontaneously without any external interference. Based on self-healing methods, there are two main categories for these smart materials such as intrinsic and non-intrinsic. In the intrinsic repairing system, the repair is done in the form of physical, chemical, and supermolecular reactions. In the non-intrinsic system, the factor of repair is stored inside compartments such as hollow fibers, microvascular networks, and microcapsules. The current research tries to investigate the recent developments in the field of non-intrinsic repair systems with an emphasis on their use in polymer composites, especially during the years 2009 until now. In this review, the need for composite repair, the concept of self-healing, a variety of non-intrinsic repair methods, evaluation of repair performance in various mechanical tests, and also statistical reports and evolution related to self-healing have been presented.