摘要 |
Protective shield against ice impacts on aircraft, wherein the shield comprises plies of composite material (1) having microcapsules (2), each microcapsule containing a healing agent (5). When a crack (4) produced on the shield reaches at least a microcapsule (2), the healing agent is spilled in the delaminated area. Some catalyst particles (3) can be included in the material and in that case, the healing agent (5) is polymerized reacting with the catalyst particles (3). If no catalyst particles (3) are included in the material, the healing agent (5) may also actuate when manually heated. Such kinds of materials allow recovering at least partially the impact strength of the shields after impact, which is particularly important in case of ice impacts that can be repetitive during operations in icing conditions.
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