Do you know the similarity between the concrete used by the Romans 2000 years ago and the aluminum alloy I'm working on? Drum roll... Both are healable! Obviously, the mechanism is different. For Roman concrete, water is required, whereas for my alloy, a heat treatment that can be coupled with the application of pressure is responsible for the healing. More precisely, in this alloy, a low melting point eutectic phase surrounds aluminium dendrites. During a heat treatment, the eutectic phase melts, goes inside cracks and porosities and weld them while cooling down. Addition of pressure with a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) improves the healing ability by helping to close porosities while the liquid phase fills them up. About the high strength, it can be obtained through the addition of strengthening elements such as Zr, Sc, Zn…