Enhancement of energy absorption characteristics of hollow glass particle filled composites by rubber addition

Syntactic foams having low-density microballoons (220-320 kg/m(3)) have compressive strengths of 30-40 MPa and fracture strains of around 15-20%, demonstrating adequate compressive damage tolerance. However, high-strength foams (60-70 MPa), with high-density microballoons (380-460 kg/m(3)), demonstrate less than 10% fracture strain and poor damage tolerance. The present study deals with increasing the fracture strain of high-density syntactic foams without a significant decrease in strength. An approach of modifying the matrix resin with incorporation of rubber particles is adopted. Such highly damage tolerant hybrid foams will be useful for aerospace and marine structures. This approach effectively increases the fracture strain of syntactic foams without a significant decrease in strength. All types of hybrid foams could be compressed to about 40% strain without any signs of failure. This study also focuses on using waste industrial materials in developing high-performance composites. Therefore, rubber particles obtained from waste tires have been used for fabricating the hybrid foams. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.