Swiss company CompPair focuses on composites with the goal of increasing product repairability. Their flagship composite uses what CompPair calls HealTech technology to create a repairable surface. The way this works is that when something gets scratched or dented, the resin that holds the fibers together is heated, causing the fibers to soften and slowly return to their original shape.
This process is not instantaneous; it can take anywhere from a few minutes to even a day or more depending on the extent of the damage. But once complete, the composite is restored to nearly like new. To be clear, this process has not been used on pole vaulting poles; CompPair has tested composites on mostly flat surfaces that are easier to control. Integrating these composites into pole vaulting poles while maintaining the integrity of the structural fibers is an entirely different challenge.
Robin Trigueira, co-founder and CTO of CompPair, says these composites could lead to more repairable sports equipment. Trigueira says he can imagine a future where Olympic stadiums are equipped with extra-long ovens where athletes can put their repairable poles in and seal them overnight before competing.
“I think it’s possible,” Trigueira says, “but we have to test it thoroughly to know anything like this.”
The future of self-healing
The problem with using these composites in a sport like pole vaulting is that it is very complicated to know if it will reliably fix the problem. Adding a new composite because it is repairable can also add a bunch of new variables that don’t mix well with the structural components of the pole vault. Glossing the surface can make the cracks more visible and can change the way the vaulter grips the pole.
Every crack or dent is different and may not heal the same depending on how it occurred. The damage may be too severe to the structure to be dissolved by a small redistribution of the composite. Depending on the defect itself, it may take a long time to repair. Also, heating a repairable resin may damage other composite materials.
Trigueira likens this process to a physical injury: If you get a simple scratch on your arm, it might heal quickly and you don’t have to worry about it, but if it’s a deeper, more serious injury, it could take longer to determine the cause and could lead to further complications.
“It’s very rare that someone will have the exact same injury as another person,” Trigueira said. “Was it a small scratch or a deep wound? We need to know this to treat it effectively.”
The idea of using repairable composites in poles isn’t new either: It’s been around since at least 2017, but no repairable poles have been made yet. Larrig said Essx isn’t currently working on adding such repairable resins or composites to its poles, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of them being used to make more durable poles in the future.
“We’re always looking into materials like this,” Larrig said. “At the moment it’s purely research-level. It’s very interesting, but we’re not sure how it will be used in poles.”
Outside of the Olympic Games, pole vaulting doesn’t have much presence in the overall sports world, and because it doesn’t cost much to make, these materials will likely be used elsewhere first. Trigueira said Compair isn’t currently working with pole vaulting companies to put its composites in their products, but is working to get them into more well-known sports equipment like surfboards and bike pedals.
So it may be some time before this kind of innovation makes its way to the humble pole vault, but both Larrig and Trigueira say it’s possible and likely to happen: “I think it’s fair to say that in 10 years’ time, we’ll see repairable composite pole vaults,” Trigueira says.
