Scientists from Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) are creating a spray that repairs ships damaged at sea within minutes of application.

Scientists are developing a polymer spray that adheres to cracked or damaged fiber composite surfaces of the ship and repairs the affected areas in under 10 minutes, according to the scientists, which means that the vessels remain in service while undergoing repairs. The team believes that the spray will be suitable for other applications that rely on composite materials, including wind turbine blades and aircraft.

Ships damaged by fire or missile attack are typically repaired by grinding out the fiber and aluminum components and filling in the affected area with new composite, a technique that is lengthy, expensive and generally requires the vessel to be put out of service.

While the spray is still in development, the RMIT scientists have also been developing an algorithm for predicting how long a fire can burn before it threatens the structure of a ship, as well as the safety of those on board. Materials commonly used in the construction of vessels, such as aluminum and composite fiber, are strong and lightweight, yet are vulnerable to high temperatures. Vessels often carry flammable materials, another risk factor.

Discussing the algorithm, study lead, Adrian Mourtiz of RMIT University said: “We took that information and then developed models, which allow people to predict how these two groups of materials will weaken, and when they'll fail in the event of fire. That sort of work has never been done before. These models that we've developed can be used not only for naval ships; they can be used if there's a fire on an aircraft, or in a building.”