Self Healing Materials

In 2006 the Dutch government funded an 8 year and 20 million euro research program on Self Healing Materials. The research was not to be restricted to one material class or one particular healing approach. It was to explore all opportunities to create self healing behavior in engineering and functional materials and to bring the new materials to a level where they could be tested in real life applications. At its launch, the IOP program was the very first integrated multi-material approach to this field in the world. The research was to be conducted at Dutch universities working in collaboration with industry. With the IOP Self Healing Materials program coming to an end, this book presents the highlights of the pioneering research in the field of self healing materials in the Netherlands. Given the diversity of topics addressed, the book will be of value to all materials scientists working in the field of materials and materials by design in particular, as well as industrial engineers and developers with an interest in increasing the reliability and reducing the maintenance of their products. The book will also be an inspiration to students and show them how an unspecified concept of self healing can be translated to new materials with exceptional behavior.