Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality

Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality

Emerging Innovations
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality
Self-healing Polyurethane by Northumbria University / Manufacturing Immortality

Information

This smart material is a novel composition of self-healing polyurethane that has the ability to restore functionality after being damaged. If it were to get punctured or cut, the polymer will heal itself, restoring mechanical properties. Unlike many other self-healing materials, this polymer requires no external input such as heat or pressure to repair, instead of healing at room temperature over a few days. The material is melt-processable and can be mechanically and thermally recycled. While the developers of the material have only experimented with it in its raw state (translucent golden syrup colour), the material can be mixed with pigments of any colour. The material can be processed as either a bulk material or coating and shows promise for use in aggressive or extreme environments where the resources required to repair or replace a broken part are often high. However, objects such as those in the built environment also present a great opportunity due to their extended life spans. This material is still in development, so experiments are currently underway whereby the chemical composition is being altered to produce a wider range of desired physical properties. However, the Manufacturing Immortality project is also actively seeking industrial collaborators who can not only help them to identify and test application opportunities for this material but also potentially help shape what properties would be desired for architectural applications. If anything mentioned here interests you, please do get in contact with the research team whose contacts are listed below, as they are very keen to know how this material can continue to develop in practical and industrial spaces.
Applications
ArchitectureConsumer GoodsFlooringInfrastructureProduct Design
Tags
NarrativeRegenerativeVersatile
Website
https://www.manufacturingimmortality.com
Social Media
https://twitter.com/mfg_immortality
Contact
Merryn Haines m.s.haines-gadd@exeter.ac.uk Justin Perry justin.perry@northumbria.ac.uk,
MATERIAL DRIVENMaterialDriven is a design agency and materials library in the UK, US, and Spain. We are a strategic interface between the developers of innovative and sustainable materials, and the studios, brands, or institutions seeking to learn about and apply them. Our work covers three realms–Education, Curation, and Consulting–and our clients range from consumer goods brands to architectural studios, developers, hotel chains, fashion labels, trade events, and museums.  With a curated range of materials in our collection, our expertise lies in locating and sourcing innovative materials, as well as understanding their applications, and impact across industries. This collection serves as the basis for projects and connections that we enable and draws from the ever-growing network of material developers that we work with, around the world.  A quality that distinguishes us from other collections and agencies in the field is the variance of scale and type we capture, and in particular, the relationships we build–with individual material makers, rising startups, established manufacturers, academics, and scientists alike. MaterialDriven is led by partners Purva Chawla and Adele Orcajada.  Designing for (Radical) Change This year, the idea of Change holds new meaning, and in the context of an increasingly volatile world, it has become an intrinsic part of our world and reality. Faced with the uncertainty of change, designers must be resilient, using the tools available to them mange the shift–transforming a crisis into an opportunity for growth. They must straddle a post-pandemic reality, which presents new, polarized consumer and industry needs, and develop solutions that achieve equity between sustainability, technology, craft, physical, social and emotional wellbeing, economy, art, science and innovation. In order to address these key issues, in both their products and spaces, designers must accomplish the delicate balance between protection and nourishment, creating a sense of aseptic cleanliness but also tactile comfort. Combining both natural and synthetic objects, creating a crossover between digital and the physical experiences will have to be seamless. What designers deliver will need to address our sense of isolation and need for uniqueness, while providing access to community and more standardized solutions. MaterialDriven’s virtual curated display will explore the key role that design is playing to support our society through change, reflected in each of the selected materials.  From materials that are extremely resilient, to those which promote self-sufficiency and wellbeing, visitors will discover healthy alternatives for antimicrobial surfaces, plant-based plastics and leathers, new and robust masonry formats, natural performance materials, innovative colour solutions, as well as pollution-based and pollution-absolving materials. 

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