Protecting structural components and infrastructures, especially in harsh environments and disaster-prone regions, is a growing challenge, that is exacerbated by the climate crisis. Current solutions often prove costly and complex, limiting their applications especially in developing countries. This research highlights the progress in developing advanced protective systems using traditional elastomers and non-Newtonian polymers (Shear Stiffening Gels -SSG) incorporated into impact-vulnerable structures. By introducing these polymers, it is possible to dynamically enhance the mechanical response of a structure when subjected to external loads, stopping the propagation of internal cracks while also enabling non-structural properties such as damage detection and autonomous healing. This approach is easy to integrate into existing structures making it very versatile for novel civil applications and structural components in the build environment. The adaptability of this approach has great potentiality for swift intervention in disaster-stricken areas.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.