From Aero Gizmo: Aerospace engineers at Bristol University are working towards developing a self-repairing aircraft. The system involves filling the hollow parts of composite-based aircraft with a hardening epoxy resin, which “bleeds” out of any hole or crack that forms on the aircraft and patches it up on the fly. The resin allows the composite to recover 80–90 percent of its strength, more than enough to ensure a safe flight home, where it can then be properly repaired. The researchers claim the technology could be commercially available within four years. The process bears a striking resemblance to the human healing system, where injuries trigger an automatic bleeding/scabbing response. Like blood, the resin is even colored, (in blue rather than red, however), to allow mechanics to easily pinpoint areas of self-reparation on the ground. In time, the researchers hope to bring the technology even closer to the human body, by allowing the healing agent to move through an integrated vascular network built into the body of the plane, just like the circulatory systems of animals.
More