Fatigue behavior of self-healing glass fiber/epoxy composites with addition of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA)

The interest in repair technologies for polymer composites has increased significantly over the last decades, due to the growing use of these materials in structural applications. In this study, poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA) was used as self-healing agent to glass fiber/epoxy composite. Materials with EMAA contents of 2 wt% and 5 wt% were manufactured using Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and the effects of the healing agent on the properties were investigated using tensile tests and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Results show slight variation of properties, which was more pronounced as the content of EMAA increased. In addition, the healing efficiency was investigated through fatigue tests and the addition of higher content of EMAA increased the number of cycles to failure after the healing activation cycle. •EMAA as self-healing agent for glass fiber/epoxy composites.•S–N curves were built for composites with two different contents of healing agent.•EMAA affected fatigue life of self-healing composites depending on particle content.•Healing is more efficient when activated in early stages of damage.