Processing and compressive strengths of syntactic foams with and without fibrous reinforcements

Syntactic foam composites containing 0, 0.9, 1.76, 2.54, 3.54, and 4.5 vol% of E-glass fibers in the form of chopped strands were fabricated and subjected to compression testing. It was found that the compressive strength values generally increased with fiber content except for the 3.54% fiber-bearing cast slab, which recorded lower values. This lone exception was due to the difference in processing route adopted in fabricating this particular fiber-bearing foam. Also noticed was the fact that the compressive strength of the 0.9 vol% fiber-bearing system was lower compared to the fiber-free system. This was correlated to the higher level of void content noticed with this fiber-bearing foam compared to that seen in the unreinforced foam. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.