Bristol University and Imperial College London have been awarded a £1.2 million four-year research grant to fund the development of methods to arrest, redirect and self-heal compression fractures in composite structures.

The research, entitled ‘crack arrest and self-healing in composite structures’ (CRASHCOMP), funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Defence and Technology Laboratory, will offer potential solutions to significantly improve the damage tolerance of composite components.

A free annual CRASHCOMP workshop will be held at University Bristol and Imperial College London on alternate years, providing a forum for academics, researchers and industry to review the results and influence the direction of the programme.