SHE
A very interesting group of innovative and smart materials are the so-called self-healing materials, which have the ability to heal damage autonomously.
Although there are few applications in the market today, it is expected that applications of the self-healing concept will show up in all industries. Think for instance about scratches on your smart phone screen that heal by themselves, cracks in a concrete bridge that fill with a self-healing substance to prevent water from entering, scratches in the lacquer of cars, etc.
With the vertical research program SHE, Flanders is taking a leading position in this fast developing area and emerging markets.
The program focuses on three different material classes:
- cementitious and mineral building materials: projects SECEMIN, SHEcon, ISHECO and iSAP
- thermoset polymers and composites: projects SEPOCOM and PUrePAIR
- Novel active protection systems on metals: projects NAPROM, SHREC and ISHECO
The image below shows the interdependence of the different projects in the program:
Projects
| Name | Start date | Duration | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUrePAIR (ICON) | 01/09/2011 | 36 months | Ended |
| SECEMIN (SBO) | 01/10/2010 | 48 months | Ended |
| SHREC (ICON) | 01/11/2012 | 36 months | Ended |
| SEPOCOM (SBO) | 01/10/2010 | 48 months | Ended |
| iSAP (ICON) | 01/02/2018 | 36 months | Running |
| NAPROM (SBO) | 01/03/2011 | 48 months | Ended |
| ISHECO (SBO) | 01/07/2014 | 48 months | Ended |
| SHEcon (ICON) | 01/09/2011 | 36 months | Ended |